


We’ll Return (When We Drift Apart)

by straysncts



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3racha as sons of the big 3 thank u oomf, 3racha best boys, M/M, Multi, PJO AU !!!!!!!!!!, and [bass boosted] jisung as the son of hades, at least i think so if its confusing please tell me, chan as the son of zeus, changbin as the son of poseidon, dont need any background knowledge i pretty much explained most things, finished!!!!!!!, happy ending because im soft n love 3racha, set in ny because thats where camp half blood is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-11-09 09:19:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17999111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/straysncts/pseuds/straysncts
Summary: “Promise?” Changbin questions, and he holds out his pinky finger. Jisung loops his own pinky around Changbin’s, repeating, “Promise.”Chan does the same.And, despite it all, it’s just them, listening to the lull of the waves and each other’s heartbeats.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> first things first the title is from broken compass which is just. God Tier
> 
> second of all cbc this is for u guys!!!!! its not woobin though (this time) 
> 
> lastly idont usually talk about how i like my fics because i tend to hate how everything i write turns out because im constantly rereading n editing n then it just gets Bad.....u know when u take selfies n u think theyre good until u stare for too long n they look bad.....Me but with writing ANYWAYS my point is that i really like this fic!!!! pjo was my entire childhood...from elementary school to college n it was so much fun to write i hope u enjoy
> 
> also its been way too long since i wrote 3racha i love their dynamics so much [bass boosted crying]
> 
> also x2 if u get anxious really easily or dont like scary things maybe skip the beginning? idk how other people are so just be careful its nothing gory or terrible its mainly binsung being scared but i wanted to put that out there 
> 
> kudos n comments are always always appreciated they are my life force 
> 
> [writing twitter](https://Twitter.com/woobinsungs)

Jisung wakes up in a cold sweat. 

He squints in disdain from the brightness of his phone screen, just barely managing to make out the _11:12_ am flashing across it. His body feels rigid, almost as if it’s preparing for something.

Jisung sits up uneasily, straining to pick up on any strange noises. All he hears is the low hum of the occasional car or two, and something that sounds distinctly like an owl, but the blood thrumming in his ears refuses to lessen. His skin crawls when he hears someone speaking.

“Mom?” He whispers, confused, but he doesn’t move. It feels so wrong, that his mother would be awake at such an hour. She’s always asleep before Jisung.

Their house falls silent, and Jisung hears it once again.

“Jisung? Can you hear me?” 

There’s a tug in his gut, an unfamiliar one, and Jisung swallows nervously. It’s eerie, how the voice sounds exactly like his mother. It has to be her, but there’s a twisted edge to it, in the way it rises and falls.

“I need you, Jisung. Why are you hiding from your mother? What kind of son are you?” 

Jisung lets out the choked sob he hadn’t realized he was holding back, fear gripping him tightly. There’s no way that’s his mother speaking. His mother doesn’t _need_ people, nor would she ever be willing to admit it. Jisung’s fists clench the blankets beneath him, and he tries to keep himself quiet as the voice grows louder. 

Loud, unfamiliar footsteps are clambering down the hallway now. Jisung’s memorized the fall of his mother’s steps by now, and the quietness associated with them. These footsteps, however, are foreign to his ears.

“Jisung?” The voice sing-songs, closer to his door now, and it is his mother’s voice but it is not _her_ , and Jisung cannot hold back his ear-shattering scream when the door to his room slowly creeps open.

—

Changbin can’t breathe. 

The pool is his safe place. It’s where he goes when he’s overwhelmed, where he spends time when he’s feeling restless. It’s the reason he stuck around tonight, even after everyone else had gone home. He remembers his coach sighing and throwing him the keys, warning him not to stay too late or the dean would hound his ass for it.

He can’t move.

All he did was look away for one second, just in time to see a shadow moving across the wall of the indoor pool, before it disappeared. When he turned back, he’d found that thing in the water, lurking.

He’s frozen in place, ice slowly spreading throughout his body, rendering him incapable of movement. His heart feels as if it’s going to jack-hammer itself out of his body, and he’s thinking, _I should’ve gone home like coach told me to_ , when it moves. It’s impossible, how quickly it ends up in front of him. Changbin’s legs jerk, and he finds himself moving backwards until he hits the wall of the pool.

The water blurs the shape of whatever’s in the pool with him, but it doesn’t do much to mask the size of it. As it moves, Changbin distantly realizes that it looks like a fish, just much larger. _Great_ , he thinks wryly. Death by fish. He sucks in a sharp breath, trying to figure out what to do. The fish is staring, almost as if challenging him to do something stupid.

He shouldn’t move. He, _really_ , really, shouldn’t move.

The fish stretches its mouth open even wider, lifting itself up, and Changbin realizes he’s been backed into a corner of the pool. The stairs are blocked by the fish, who, by the way, appears to have leg-like appendages, so he wouldn’t dare to try to pull himself out. He’s not fast enough.

The weird, human-like fish lunges before he can think of what to do, and Changbin panics, screaming piercingly as his vision tunnels.

—

Chan wakes up lonely.

He slides out of his bunk bed tiredly, trying to ignore the screwdriver attempting to wedge his heart open. He glares bitterly at the statue in his cabin, like it’s his father’s fault that he’s all alone.

There’s only so many days he can wake up alone.

The other campers stick to themselves, and distantly, somewhere in the back of his mind, Chan knows that they feel a sense of fear. They don’t purposely alienate him. It’s an unspoken rule that people sit at their cabin tables for meals, that they stick to each other for quests and group activities. 

It’s not required. Chan had asked, but the looks they gave him were pretty clear. If he’s lucky, he gets a smile or two from some of the brave campers, but that’s about it. 

Chan looks at himself in the mirror while he’s brushing his teeth, mourning his loneliness.

He dazedly hears some commotion outside of his cabin, and he snaps out of it, determined not to be late for breakfast. Part of him had wanted to give up a while back, just take the punishment of extra chores, but he knows campers talk. The least he could do is keep up a decent image. Part of Chan secretly wonders if his father would be disappointed otherwise, but he can’t bring himself to admit that he wants to placate someone he’s never even met.

So, he does what he does best instead. He eats breakfast at his cabin table, the one that looks the newest, because he’s the only one who sits there, and continues mourning his loneliness over his eggs and toast. 

—

The door opens to reveal a very tall figure roped in darkness, and Jisung’s never felt such so much _fear_ in his life. Every hair on his body is standing straight, and his brain is screaming at him to do something, but he can’t move.

“How come you don’t come when your mother calls, demigod?” and, God, it sounds exactly like his mother. The whole scene is terrible, and, _so_ , so wrong that Jisung’s stomach churns, bile creeping up his throat. That unfamiliar feeling is tugging at his gut again, sparking to life upon hearing that strange word.

Demigod.

Jisung comes to his senses then, and he scrambles off of the bed, slowly moving towards the window. He steps backwards, eyes on the figure, who follows his every movement. 

They’re closer to the window now, close enough for the moonlight to illuminate the figures face. Jisung has to bite back another scream at the sight, realizing that the monster only has one eye.

“W-what are you?” Jisung stutters out, trying to keep it distracted. One of his hands slips behind his back, groping for the latch on his window. The monster tilts its head, almost as if wondering whether or not Jisung is worth the trouble. 

“And why do you sound just like my mother?” Jisung’s voice is wavering, and a fresh wave of panic washes over him when he thinks about his mother. No answer from the monster, but his fingers grasp onto the latch, and he twists it, not expecting the squealing noise that comes with it.

The monster lunges upon hearing the sound, and Jisung screams as he ducks, loud enough to wake up the entire apartment building. That feeling tugs in his gut again, and he hears a strange rumbling coming from somewhere nearby. Jisung watches as his bedroom floor shakes, cracks widening along its surface.

He lets out another scream at the sight of an array of gray — he isn’t even sure what to call them — _objects_ fly out from the cracks, stacking on top of one another. Jisung swallows back his scream of horror when he realizes they’re _bones_ forming _skeletons_. The tug in his gut is gone now, replaced by a growing weakness, almost as if he raised them from the ground himself.

Which is absolutely fucking crazy. Jisung’s fucking bat-shit crazy. This has got to be some sort of nightmare, but, no, he’s here, with a wall of skeletons standing in front of him.

“Help,” falls from his lips, and it seems to be enough for them to spring into action. Jisung shudders, turning to fully open his window.

“It’s too late for your mother, demigod,” The monster calls out, and Jisung turns just in time to watch him knock a skeleton out of the way. He watches it fall apart, watches the way the ground seems to suck it back down. There’s no fucking way he isn’t having a nightmare. One-eyed monsters? Self-destructing skeletons being dragged back into the Earth? 

He’s lost it. Senior year ending has driven him to the edge.

The monster knocks the last skeleton out of the way, and they both watch it topple back down a crack. Jisung glances out the window, debating on what to do. He can’t just leave his mother behind.

“I told you. It’s too late for her. You’re next, son of Hades.”

Jisung’s halfway out the window when he hears a roar, and he turns back around, just in case. 

All he finds is swirls of gold dust standing where the monster used to be, and someone standing next to it. Jisung almost topples out of the window.

“Easy, child. I’m not here to hurt you,” and something about the way he says it has Jisung believing him instantly. His voice is oddly soothing, which makes him suspicious. 

“I don’t usually fight my childrens’ battles, you know.”

“But cyclops are terribly annoying, so I decided to step in,” The man continues, a look of disdain on his face, which, Jisung notes, is terribly pale. He’s wearing long, dark, robes, and Jisung is tempted to ask him if he’s a monk, but he’s not sure he would appreciate it. 

“Who are you?” He manages, carefully setting himself back in his room. He shuffles to the side, grabbing his Economics textbook, just in case. 

The man hesitates when he notices, but he says, “I’m your father, Hades. God of the Underworld, and whatnot. I’m sure you’ve heard of me,” with an absurd amount of confidence, as if Jisung’s spent his life learning about Greek mythology. His mother did, but Jisung never understood her obsession.

Jisung laughs nervously.

“I can’t tell you much, but Chiron will fill you in at camp when you arrive,” The man, god, continues, and he flicks his wrist, ridding the air of that terrible golden dust. “I’m very sorry about your mother. If I had known...” Hades’ voice trails off, and Jisung’s heart squeezes in his chest at the mention of her, but he tries his best to ignore it. 

“Camp?” Jisung asks instead, stunned. He can’t focus on his mother right now, or it’d break him.

“You’ll be safe there. It’s where other demigods live. Kids like you,” Hades explains, smoothening out his perfectly creased robes. Jisung eyes the textbook in his hand, but Hades plucks it out of his grasp within seconds, sighing.

“Kids like me? Kids with daddy issues? Kids who lost their mom to some weird freak with one eye? What did you call him? A cyclops?” Jisung laughs bitterly, and steps back towards the window. He’s had enough for tonight. 

“You stepped in to save me, but not my mother. I won’t forget that,” He adds, tears brimming in his eyes.

Hades winces, a sliver of emotion on his features, but he doesn’t stop Jisung from climbing out the window, nor does he say anything when he hears a broken sob fall from Jisung’s lips. 

Somewhere, in the distance, Jisung hears sirens, and knows he has to get out of sight.

—

When the fish moves, Changbin screams, instinctively thrusting his hands up, and a wall of water bursts out, churning around the monster. 

Changbin lets out something close to a pathetic whimper, finally scrambling out of the water as he wonders what the hell just happened. The fish growls at the sight, a sound he thought he’d never hear, and Changbin mentally wills the water to keep it incapacitated.

He stumbles backwards, watching the monster struggle. He’s wondering if fish can drown when the water surges, covering it completely. Changbin stares at it in shock, trying to see if it’s still in there.

“It’s gone. I forgot how much Keto must hate my children, sending a Skolopendra after you like that,” A voice booms out from behind him, and Changbin has to bite back a scream. Above him, a pipe bursts. 

The person steps out of the shadows, smiling warmly at Changbin. He’s unnaturally tall.

“You must learn to control that,” He observes, and he waves his hand quickly, stopping the flow of water. Changbin can’t stop shaking.

“I shouldn’t be here, but none of the satyrs’ seem to have picked up on your trail. You have to leave soon, before another monster comes after you,” The man continues, and his eyes seem to hold a great deal of sadness in them, despite the way he’s smiling at him .

“Go to Long Island, and ask around for Delphi’s Strawberry Service. Everything will make sense soon,” The man promises, before vanishing.

Changbin’s left alone, shivering.

—

When Chan finishes his training on the lava wall, he realizes that the campers are buzzing about something. A quest, maybe? Chan frowns as he notices campers crowding together near the cabins, but he joins them regardless, craning his neck to get a better view.

“Settle down!” Someone calls out, presumably Chiron. The other campers glance at Chan warily when they notice him, but they all part, wordlessly leaving a path for him. Chan looks at them uneasily, but no one offers an explanation as he gets closer.

He sees two boys standing in the center of the crowd, eyeing the people around them nervously. Chan doesn’t see what he has to do with this, not until a medic from the Apollo cabin steps forward, asking, “Are you injured?” and one of the boys shrinks away. He clenches his hands, and Chan watches as a wall of something erupts around the two of them, slowly but surely creating a barrier.

The medic, one he doesn’t recognize, blanches at the sight, backing away.

Chan looks back at the campers, motioning for them to leave. He can feel Chiron’s eyes on him, almost as if waiting to see what he’ll do.

“You too,” Chan says, but the Centaur doesn’t budge from his spot. Chan sighs, but decides to approach the wall, which appears to be made out of bones.

 _Bones_ , he thinks. _Which god could’ve given him that power?_

“You must be scared,” Chan says softly, once he’s close enough.

No answer.

“You’re a child of Hades, aren’t you?” Chan pries, and the wall’s shaking now, barely holding itself together. Chan watches as it wavers, crumbling to reveal the two boys again.

“What gave it away?” The taller of the two asks, but his voice is shaking. His clothes are ragged, presumably from a monster encounter, and he’s got a streak of dried blood on his face. One of them must’ve gotten injured at one point. The other boy is slighter shorter, with black hair, and eyes that make Chan want to take a few steps backwards.

“How are you even alive?” Chiron interrupts, cutting off Chan’s response. The taller boy — his hair is a light brown, and his features are more softer, Chan notices — stiffens at the question.

“My father guided us,” He answers quietly, earning a sharp intake of breath from Chiron, and a pang of jealousy from Chan. 

“Hades helped you get to camp?” Chan questions, bewildered. The most campers get from their godly parents is a claiming, nothing more. “He sent _someone_ ,” The boy corrects.

Chan turns to the other boy instead of questioning any further, who can’t seem to keep eye contact with anyone.

“And you? Do you know who your father is?” Chan asks, softly, in case he scares him. He gets a firm shake of his head in response.

“He was in a swimming pool when he got attacked. His father did show up; Changbin just never asked for his name,” The taller of the two explains, and a burst of excitement blooms in Chan’s chest. He looks over at Chiron, who seems to be sharing his thoughts.

“You don’t have any water-controlling abilities, by any chance?” Chan presses, and the boy, who he now knows as Changbin, looks at him in surprise.

“Gods, Chiron, what if he’s—” but Chiron cuts him off with a knowing glance, as if warning him. Chan distantly hears someone running out of their cabin, yelling, “Why did our water pipe just explode?” and he watches Changbin’s eyes widen.

“It happens when he gets nervous. I don’t think he’s learned how to control it just yet,” The other boy admits, and Chan has to hold back his laughter. There’s no way. 

“That’s enough for now. We must explain everything for you,” Chiron says, firmly, and Chan knows there’s no arguing with him. He’s about to leave when Changbin blurts out, “Who’s your father? Or mother?” 

Chan smiles sadly.

“I’m Chan — a son of Zeus. I’m not supposed to be alive.”

—

The skeleton shows up about an hour after Jisung’s left his apartment building. Granted, he hadn’t gotten very far. As soon as he’d climbed out his window, he’d fallen into a garbage container. He hadn’t even bother to move; he just sat there, crying, for what felt like hours.

His mom. He wanted to go back, to see her, but if what the monster said was true, then there was no point. The problem is that he had nowhere to go. Hades, if that really was his name, had failed to fill him in on this camps location.

He eventually peels himself out of the container, shakily making his way down the alley. He’s walked all of two blocks when something appears out of the shadows, and it takes everything in him not to scream at the sight. 

Whatever the thing is moves closer, and Jisung realizes it’s dressed like a soldier, a uniform coat covering what appears to be his skeleton.

Jisung sighs.

“My father sent you.”

Jisung doesn’t know how he can tell, considering it has no flesh, but the soldier’s smiling at him eerily.

“Well? Lead the way,” Jisung gestures impatiently, and he can sense an eye roll coming from the soldier. His brain is definitely overloading on weirdness, but he pushes it away. He can’t do that right now.

Jisung looks down at the ground angrily, mumbling, “Really? Don’t you know how I feel about the U.S. army? I’m a bit of a pacifist.”

The soldier snarls, presumably annoyed, and Jisung’s whispering, “How is that even _possible?_ ” when it yanks him by the ear, forcing him to go down the street.

Turns out the soldier isn’t there to do all the work for him, and Jisung has to figure out where they’re headed. Apparently, that means asking the few people awake where he can find Delphi’s Strawberry Service. He’s not even sure what that means, but his companion doesn’t have an explanation for him. No one seems to bat an eye about the walking skeleton next to him, but Jisung figures anything’s possible at this point.

When someone finally mentions that it’s on Long Island, Jisung breathes a sigh of relief. At least he has a destination now. He looks back at the soldier, who’s staring at a building in the distance, refusing to budge.

“Long Island’s this way,” Jisung calls out, but he doesn’t even move, pointing adamantly at the building. Jisung moves closer, squinting as he makes out the sign. 

“A swimming pool? You wanna take a quick dip?” Jisung asks, baffled. The skeleton glares at him (God, Jisung is losing his fucking mind), but doesn’t move.

“Don’t tell me I have to go inside,” He deadpans, and the soldier seems almost amused, crossing his arms. Jisung knows that if he had eyebrows, he’d be raising them in anticipation.

“I’ll be back,” Jisung caves, glaring as he walks in the direction of the building. He’s considering learning how to pick a lock when he reaches the door, finding it slightly ajar already. “Great. Stupid skeleton’s gonna get me killed. Thanks dad,” He mutters, slowly peeking inside. When he sees nothing, he pushes the door open even wider, slipping inside. 

Jisung bites back a yelp when he spots someone sitting on the bleachers next to the pool, head in their hands. His gaze moves to the pool, which appears to be sparkling. When Jisung moves closer, he realizes it’s the same gold dust he’d seen earlier.

Something clicks inside of Jisung’s head, and he thinks he understands why the stupid, ridiculous skeleton made them stop here.

“Hey, uh, everything okay?” Jisung calls out, and the figure’s head snaps up, eyes red from crying, presumably. 

“Who are you?” The boy asks, narrowing his eyes at him. Jisung gulps, hoping his earlier assumption wasn’t wrong. 

“A monster came after you too, didn’t it?” Jisung presses, watching the way the boy’s shoulders tense at his words. He hears a loud noise, and when he turns around to find the source, he’s met with a broken pipe, water pooling around his ankles.

“How did you know that?” He asks, voice guarded. Jisung watches the way the water in the pool starts shaking, and realizes he has to defuse the situation. 

“It happened to me too. Uh, my dad showed up. His name is Hades,” Jisung blurts out, and the boy finally stands up, clambering down the bleachers. He’s shaking.

“But what brings you here?”

Jisung manages an awkward smile, pointing out the door.

“It’s best if I just show you,” Jisung admits, heading back towards the entrance he’d come from. When he turns his head to look back, he notices, with relief, that the boy is following him.

The soldier nods in approval when he sees the both of them heading his way, and Jisung hears a small yelp from behind him.

“Yeah. My dad sent him to get me to camp,” Jisung explains, hoping it doesn’t deter the boy from coming with him. “Except he hasn’t been much help. I’ve had to do most of the work,” He adds, as an afterthought.

“He’s also a skeleton,” The boy observes, and Jisung has to bite back a laugh. “With an army uniform.”

“Don’t talk about him like that, or he gets upset,” Jisung stage-whispers, trying to keep the mood light. (It’s mainly deflection from tonight’s events). The boy does a double-take, and Jisung has to hold back a laugh, reassuring him that it’s a joke.

“So, are you gonna come with us? To camp?” Jisung plows along, hoping he says yes. He really cannot do this on his own, or with the skeleton. The soldier grunts unhappily at his question. Jisung guesses that if he had eyes, he’d be glaring at the both of them.

“I think that’s skeleton for _you-don’t-have-an-option_ ,” Jisung admits, casting his eyes over to the boy. He’s surprised to find him nodding along. “You don’t have to listen to him, though. This is all very weird. I’m doing it mainly because he won’t leave me alone, even after I told him I’m a pacifist,” Jisung continues, just to make sure he knows he has the ability to choose.

“A pacifist,” The boy repeats, laughing slightly. Jisung manages an awkward grin.

“Yeah. I’ll go. I was told about some sort of a camp too, which means I can trust you,” The boy says firmly, and Jisung is relieved. At least he isn’t going to do this by myself.

It’s just him, some boy he met at the local college’s swimming pool, and a dead skeleton who feels very strongly about the army. Jisung could’ve never imagined a stranger combination of people, but here he is, stuck with them regardless.

“I’m Jisung,” He says, holding out his hand.

“Changbin,” The other boy says, accepting his hand with a smile. Changbin. Jisung likes the way it sounds. 

“Ever been to Long Island?” Jisung asks, heading down the street. Changbin follows him, muttering, “Not really,” under his breath. 

“Neither have I, but we have to find Delphi’s Strawberry Service if we wanna get to camp. When I asked around, someone pointed me in that direction,” Jisung explains. He feels determined, but he can’t tell if it’s from excitement, or if it’s his way of distracting himself from everything that happened. The skeleton grunts in agreement.

“Delphi’s Strawberry Service? That rings a bell, but I can’t remember why,” Changbin sounds confused, as if he’s straining to remember a distant memory.

“That’s alright. I’m sure we’ll find it,” Jisung reassures him, glancing down the street for a taxi.

“A taxi? With him?” Changbin asks, once he realizes what he’s doing, and Jisung shrugs. 

“No one batted an eye while I was asking for directions,” He confesses, stretching out a hand to wave a taxi down. “He had everything on display too,” Jisung adds, earning a laugh from Changbin. One of the cabs stops by the sidewalk, and he gestures for them to pile in, leaning between the seats to tell the driver that they’re headed to Long Island.

“See? Nothing,” Jisung whispers, and Changbin’s eyes widen from amazement.

“I feel like this is all one big terrible dream,” Changbin confesses, and Jisung nods in agreement, but doesn’t pursue the topic. Not right now.

“Why did monsters come after us?” Changbin blurts out, and Jisung shushes him when their cab driver looks up at them through the mirror, confused. They spend the rest of the ride in silence, and Jisung manages to shove all of them out before the driver can ask for any payment. He didn’t grab his wallet before leaving, which he thoroughly regrets. 

The skeleton, however, reaches into the pocket of his coat, throwing a small bag filled with some sort of coins into the cab. The driver stares at them worriedly, but takes off without any complaint. 

“Good news. I think we’re in the right place,” Changbin calls out softly, pointing to a sign.

“There’s no way it’s that easy,” Jisung says nervously, glancing down the stretch of highway. It’s dawn now, with the sun coloring the sky with pale pinks and oranges. Changbin shrugs, already walking. Jisung hesitates for one more second, glancing back. He thinks he sees some movement near the bushes, but Changbin calls out his name, and he snaps out of it, jogging to catch up with them.

He almost runs into the both of them, and he’s muttering, “Seriously?” when his brain registers a low hissing sound. “Jisung?” Changbin says quietly, taking a careful step backwards.

“Please tell me you have a plan,” Changbin continues, just as quietly. Jisung gives him a dubious glance, before taking a careful look in front of them. He sees something moving way too fast to be human, but it just looks like a weird lump of mass. Jisung glances over at the skeleton his father had sent, and they make eye contact.

The hissing grows louder, and Changbin mutters, “Shit, I think those are snakes,” under his breath. Jisung goes rigid, but the soldier squares his shoulders. He doesn’t say anything, which isn’t surprising, but he turns to the both of them.

“Whatever you have planned, I don’t like it,” Jisung admits, voice trembling. Changbin looks back and forth between the both of them, confused. Jisung can’t explain it. Sure, the skeleton doesn’t talk, and that’s reasonable, but he can almost _sense_ what he’s thinking, has been able to ever since he saw him. Jisung can’t breathe.

“You don’t have to,” Jisung forces out, trying not to sob. He’s really lost it. Never did he imagine crying over a dead skeleton. The skeleton chooses to ignore his words, saluting him instead, and Jisung’s spluttering, “ _Don’t_ do that. You don’t have to do this,” with as much conviction as possible, but it’s too late. It’s always too late. It was too late for his mom, and it’s too late for him. 

The snakes lunge towards their group, and the skeleton meets them halfway. 

Changbin tugs on Jisung’s sleeve, urging, “Come on, Jisung,” hurriedly, but Jisung’s too busy watching in horror, watching the only connection he had with his father fight on their behalf, and it is devastating.

“You can’t do anything. We have no weapons,” Changbin adds urgently, tugging on his sleeve more forcefully now. Jisung stumbles, cheeks wet with tears, and he snaps out of it, allowing Changbin to pull him along as they run. 

“It shouldn’t be too far,” Changbin reassures him a few seconds later, but Jisung’s only half-listening. Changbin’s saying something else when he trips, his hand landing on something way too fucking sharp to be on the side of the highway. Jisung grimaces, trying to ignore the fact that he’s crying harder now. 

Changbin helps him up hurriedly, telling him that it’s okay as he glances behind them, looking for signs of danger. Jisung wipes at his tears from embarrassment, not realizing his hand is bleeding. Changbin’s encouraging him again so he gives up, focusing on running instead. 

They come to a stop when Jisung starts gasping for breath, Changbin looking at him worriedly.

“Catch your breath, Ji. I think we should be okay,” Changbin says softly, and he’s rubbing his back reassuringly as Jisung bends over, heaving. _Ji_. Changbin barely knows him. 

It’s silent for a few minutes, until Jisung’s breathing becomes less irregular and his chest stops aching.

“He sacrificed himself,” Jisung chokes out, and Changbin glances at him worriedly. “Well, he was a soldier. Even after death,” Changbin reminds him, gently, but the thought doesn’t make him feel any better. “Yeah, well, fuck the whole sacrificing-yourself-for-glory-and-the-lives-of-others thing,” Jisung grumbles, avoiding Changbin’s eyes.

“I could sense his thoughts. I sensed the ground opening up and swallowing him when he sacrificed himself. I sensed the death of those snakes. All of it,” Jisung finally says, voice scratchy. Changbin stares at him curiously, but he doesn’t appear to outright hate him.

“Your father is, uh, Hades, right? I guess this all wasn’t just a fever dream after all,” Changbin sighs, closing his eyes. Jisung doesn’t know what to say in response.

Instead, he gets up.

“I think we’re almost there,” Jisung says, craning his neck to get a better look. “I don’t wanna risk more snakes coming after us, so we should probably get going,” He adds, holding out his hand. Changbin grabs it, using it as momentum to pull himself up. He doesn’t remember when they sat down, but it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t, not after everything that happened.

They don’t walk much farther, sighting a hill within minutes.

“Do you think that’s it?” Changbin questions, looking at Jisung apprehensively. 

“It wouldn’t hurt to look,” Jisung suggests, and they trudge along towards it together. Jisung’s lost in thought, wondering what’s going to happen if they’ve actually found the camp, when Changbin stops walking.

“Oh, shit,” Changbin mutters, and Jisung follows his eyes. He comes eye-to-eye (Fuck, he thinks) with someone at the top of the hill, and the figures comes into focus. He’s tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes, except that’s the thing. He doesn’t have two eyes. Instead, they’re all over his body.

They all blink simultaneously, and Jisung shivers, weirded out.

“Is he, uh, a monster too?” Jisung asks, quietly, so he doesn’t hear them. There’s a low rumbling sound, and Jisung realizes he must’ve not lowered his voice enough, because the guy looks upset at the implication.

He seems to get over it though, beckoning for them to follow him. Changbin looks at him, almost as if asking for his opinion. Jisung nods, and they follow the strange guy over the crest of the hill.

The first thing he spots are volleyball courts, and honestly, Jisung’s ready to bolt. They’re obviously in the wrong place. Changbin nudges him, almost as if he can sense what he’s thinking, and points to something to their left.

A cabin.

Jisung exhales a sigh of relief, and Changbin smiles at him. They seem to be heading in that direction, which is a good sign, Jisung supposes. 

It’s going fine, right up until Jisung sees people heading towards them. He tries to ignore them, but they’re pointing and staring as they get closer, and Jisung finds himself shrinking closer to Changbin.

Someone steps out of the cabin, and Jisung does a double-take at the sight of his lower body. Distantly, he recalls that there was a name for people who were half-horse, but his brain is short-circuiting. 

Sue him for not brushing up on his Greek mythology before he got attacked by some strange monster and learned his father was Hades.

Changbin inhales sharply, but doesn’t say a word.

The group of people — they look young, Jisung notes — are surrounding them now, and Jisung’s having more and more difficulty trying to keep himself calm. Someone, a medic, he presumes, considering how they’re dressed, steps forward to ask if they’re hurt.

Jisung clenches his fists, and that weird feeling tugs in his gut again as the earth rumbles. He watches, horrified at himself, as an array of bones flies from the dirt, stacking themselves up in front of him and Changbin. Exhaustion washes over him, stronger than before, and Jisung briefly wonders if it has anything to do with the stunt he just pulled. He doesn’t know how much longer he can keep it up.

Someone’s speaking to them through the wall, but Jisung can’t make out what they’re saying, not until they ask if he’s a son of Hades. Jisung deflates, letting the wall collapse.

He’s met with a boy staring at him gently, his dark hair curling and eyes warm, despite the situation, and this is where it all begins.

—

Chan hasn’t seen either of the new campers since Chiron ushered them off to the Big Cabin to watch the introductory video. He remembers doing the same not that long ago.

As a result, he doesn’t see them until dinner in the mess hall a couple of days later. They show up late, and Chan winces at the thought of what chores they’re going to be given to do. He hopes they get a pass, just this once, considering that they’re still new.

Chan smiles at the two of them, and the boy, the one who has yet to introduce himself, seems to take that as a cue to sit at his table. The mess hall falls silent, before breaking out into hushed whispers as the two of them face Chan.

“Are we not supposed to be sitting here?” He asks, much more defiant than he was earlier. _He’s like a completely different person_ , Chan thinks. Changbin’s smiling nervously at him from his seat, but he doesn’t say anything.

“What’s your name again?” Chan asks, not wanting him to get up and leave when he admits that they’re supposed to sit with their cabin mates. He can practically picture Chiron sternly telling them not to fraternize, as if it’s the worst thing they could ever do.

“Jisung.”

Chan hums in approval, formally introducing himself before focusing back on his dinner. 

“You know who Changbin’s father is. Chiron refused to tell him. He said he should be properly claimed first,” Jisung plows on, looking at Chan expectantly.

“Did he tell you about the Big 3 by any chance?” Chan questions, and he can practically sense Jisung’s frustration, and, yeah, it’s totally justified. Chan can tell he’s being too cryptic.

“Yeah, he did. You’re one of them, aren’t you? Being the son of Zeus and everything,” Jisung says, raising an eyebrow. “That’s what you meant when you said you weren’t supposed to be alive earlier.”

Chan pops a piece of beef into his mouth, shrugging nonchalantly. He really doesn’t know what to say in response. It’s not like he prepared himself this moment. (As if he’d ever admit it, actually).

“If it makes you feel any better, Chiron said the same thing to me,” Jisung adds, and he looks crestfallen for the briefest of seconds.

“Don’t mind him. He really does mean well,” Chan insists, hoping it doesn’t affect Jisung too much. Jisung stares at him, but doesn’t say anything else.

—

Changbin’s claimed in the middle of the bonfire, a glowing trident circling above him.

Chan is shocked, despite having suspected who he was after hearing about the pipe he burst. Not to mention it was the one in the Hephaestus cabin, which left them scratching their heads. Nothing just breaks in their cabin, not usually.

Everyone falls quiet, and Chan watches the bonfire dim, shrinking with the realization that the oath was broken not once, but three times.

Chan, on the other hand, is hopeful, right up until Changbin stands up abruptly, swatting at the holograph. Jisung, who was sitting next to him, looks worried. 

“A son of Poseidon,” Someone murmurs, hushed, but their voice travels through the amphitheater regardless. 

“A son of Hades too. So much for that oath,” Someone else adds, and Chan feels anger bubble up in his chest. “It’s not their fault,” He says, firmly, and everyone goes silent, avoiding his gaze. Jisung gives him an appreciative glance, and Chiron clears his throat.

—

Jisung wakes up screaming.

He’d barely fallen asleep, and even then, he was having nightmares about his parents, about the monster that had come for him.

Jisung shivers, but he kicks off the spare blanket one of the campers had given him regardless. He sits up, feet touching the cold ground. He squints, wondering why they made his cabin so dark.

When he opens his cabin door, he finds someone standing there.

“ _Jesus_ ,” Jisung yelps. “You scared me,” He adds, realizing the figure is Changbin.

“Jesus,” Changbin repeats, smiling. “Kinda funny, if you think about it,” and Jisung realizes just how absurd all of this is.

“Hilarious. Makes me feel like I’m having a crisis,” Jisung retorts, but his tone is light. Changbin laughs softly, and Jisung thinks it’s nice. 

“What are you doing awake, by the way?” Jisung asks, stepping out of the doorway. Changbin stares at him apprehensively. “You’re not going anywhere, are you? Because we’d get in trouble,” Changbin reminds him, ignoring Jisung’s question.

Jisung grins.

“I have a trick to show you. I can’t sleep, so might as well,” He says instead, holding out his hand. Changbin’s eyes flicker up to him nervously, but he accepts it anyways. Jisung can’t tell if he’s naive for trusting him so easily. Maybe it’s some sort of running-from-monsters-to-stay-alive bond. 

Jisung pulls him back, towards the shadow cast by the moon, and Jisung feels himself melt into the darkness, Changbin in tow. They wind up at the lake, with Changbin stumbling.

“Fuck, dude,” He rasps, bending over to catch his breath. Jisung reaches over hesitantly, patting his back awkwardly. He’d forgotten to consider how it’d make other people feel.

“How did you do that?” Changbin asks, a little breathless as he stands back up. 

“It started out as an accident. Like, I woke up needing to go to the bathroom earlier tonight, and I stepped into a shadow, and the next thing I knew I was by the showers,” Jisung explains, shrugging. “A little off, but no biggie,” He adds.

Changbin stares at him curiously, but doesn’t say anything else. He points to the docks instead, and starts walking. Jisung pauses, wondering what they could possibly do there, but he ends up following regardless.

Changbin sits at the edge, and he’s asking, “Were you the person I heard screaming?” as Jisung joins him, feet dangling over the edge. The bottom of his feet skim the water, and he realizes he hadn’t put shoes on when he left his cabin.

“Nightmares.”

“I heard those are common,” Changbin tells him, and they fall silent.

It’s eerily dark outside, but Jisung doesn’t mind. He watches Changbin summon water up into the air, watches the way it mimics his every movement. Changbin swirls his hand, and drops it. Jisung watches the water do the same. He should’ve been a son of Poseidon instead.

Somewhere in the Underworld, Hades is probably cursing him. _Good_ , he thinks. His knowledge of Greek mythology isn’t extensive, but he remembers the story of Persephone. At least Poseidon never kidnapped someone.

Jisung sighs.

“Someone asked me how long I could hold my breath for. All these years of swimming — even at college — and I never realized,” Changbin admits. Jisung doesn’t know what to say in response.

“I tried it, by the way. I can’t drown,” Changbin adds, and Jisung lets out a breathy laugh.

“Look at you, harboring all of these powers, and not sharing with the rest of us. Asshole,” He says, but it’s in jest. Changbin glances over to his side, smiling. He raises his hand, forming a fist, and Jisung all but screams when a wall of water hits him, soaking his body to the bone.

“The harpies are gonna get you for breaking curfew. Or that wine guy,” Changbin warns him, but he’s fighting back a smile. Jisung watches it crack along his face, and something stirs in his chest.

“You’re with me too,” Jisung points out. 

It’s nice, he thinks, to have a distraction from his own mind.

“I could just jump in. No one would know where I went.”

Changbin sounds wistful, and for that, Jisung’s heart aches.

They fall silent, sitting side by side. Jisung watches the moon drift across the sky, and Changbin is content to just sit there, making all sorts of pretty shapes out of water.

—

Changbin almost sleeps through breakfast. Someone he doesn’t recognize — perhaps a senior counselor — stops by for his cabin inspection. He’s tucking his sheets into place when he hears them enter.

“Uh, looking good, I guess. Just don’t forget to dust,” They remind him, clipboard in hand, and they’re gone within seconds. Changbin frowns, wondering if that’s how the procedure is supposed to go. Chiron and the camp director made it sound like a huge deal, reminding him that the worst cabin gets stuck on kitchen duty, or something as equally worse.

He doesn’t dwell on it. Instead, he makes his way across camp, making himself comfortable on the porch of Jisung’s cabin. Jisung sticks his head out apprehensively, breathing a sigh of relief when he notices him.

“Oh, thank god. I’m not sure what to do,” He admits, glancing back into the cabin worriedly. 

“They barely looked at mine. You should be fine,” Changbin insists, and Jisung narrows his eyes at him. 

“I’m a teenage boy, and I, unfortunately, live up to the stereotypes. Imagine me doing kitchen duty, but all alone,” Jisung laments, a self-pitying expression on his face. 

“I think they’re scared of us. The person who came into my cabin didn’t even look at me,” Changbin admits, and they both grow quiet. Neither of them have talked about the way people stare, or the way they talk.

“Oh.”

Neither of them say anything else when they’re walking to the mess hall some minutes later. If Jisung notices people keeping their distance from them, he doesn’t say anything. His posture is defiant regardless, his shoulders straightened and chin up. Changbin admires that about him.

Changbin spots the table where they’d sat yesterday, and hesitates. They really should sit at their own tables. They really should.

Jisung stalks ahead, and plops himself down across from the son of Zeus.

Changbin sighs and follows suit, ignoring the stares.

—

Chan isn’t surprised when Jisung makes himself comfortable at his table again, Changbin following with a sheepish smile.

“You have your own cabin table,” Chan points out, to which Jisung shrugs.

“Why would I sit by myself when there’s other people around? It doesn’t make any sense,” Jisung retorts, smiling happily at the waffles on his plate. Changbin apologizes for disturbing his breakfast, but Chan tells him he doesn’t mind.

“So, what can you do? Changbin controls water. I travel through shadows, raise skeletons, whatever,” Jisung blurts out, a little too suddenly. Chan blinks, trying to absorb everything Jisung’s thrown at him.

“I can summon lightning,” Chan admits, and Jisung’s eyes widen. “When I get excited, lightning starts sparking around me, but I learned to control it,” Chan adds, thinking about the time he won a game of capture the flag, when he felt it fly off of his fingertips. He sighs.

Changbin’s staring at him, but Chan avoids his eyes. 

—

The naiads hate him. 

Okay, they don’t exactly hate him, considering they just barely met him. Changbin thinks they’re a little envious, actually. The whole son of Poseidon thing must be getting to them. He doesn’t understand, especially after a camper — who introduces himself as Woojin — takes pity on him and explains that they’re freshwater spirits. _A bit on the flirty side, but harmless_ , he said.

Changbin’s never once sat in a canoe before, only really ever stuck to swimming, but as soon as he gets in, something clicks into place. The water seems to bend to his will, pushing his canoe along.

One of the campers behind him yells, “That’s not fair!” but Changbin isn’t doing it on purpose. It’s just _happening_. The naiad next to him giggles, telling him she’s glad to finally have some competition. Changbin doesn’t know what to say.

He crosses the finish line first, ending on the other side of the lake. He hops out of the canoe, dragging it up the embankment. The campers on the sideline are staring at him apprehensively, and one of naiads steps forward to give him a certificate. Something about drachma’s and store credit for the camp store since he won, he learns.

Whatever.

No prize could take his mind off of the look’s people are giving him. Someone whispers, “Of course he won. He made a water pipe burst yesterday,” and Changbin takes a deep breath.

He turns to the naiad who handed him a certificate, and asks what he should do with the canoe. She tells him not to worry about it, that they’re the ones who take care of it once everyone passes the finish line. 

Changbin turns back out to the lake, watching everyone row, and says he doesn’t mind helping. The naiad sighs, but doesn’t protest. The other campers disperse as soon as everything is over, but Changbin stays.

Chiron had told him they have beach time in their schedule now that it’s summer, but Changbin dawdles at the lake instead of joining everyone out by the sea. It’s the same thing, except he’s alone. 

Changbin finds himself back at the docks, right at the edge, just like the night before. He slips off his shoes, placing them on the left edge of the dock. He hesitates, bending down to realign them in a straight line. 

When he stands back up, he moves closer to the edge. He glances behind him, as if he’s doing something he shouldn’t be, before he jumps.

The water is cold, and Changbin feels goosebumps rise on his arms, followed by a surge of reinvigoration. He hadn’t even realized how exhausted he was until now.

He thinks back to when he first started swimming all those years ago, when just being in the pool made him panic. He’s slowly sinking now, and it is not until he touches the bottom of the lake that he allows the pressure in his chest to deflate. Breathing is easy, even when it’s underwater.

Changbin doesn’t know how long he sits there for, simply staring at his surroundings. A couple of the fish swim up to him, nudging his shoulders and arms curiously. Changbin stares, almost as if daring them to do anything. They leave him alone after realizing he poses no threat to their relatively peaceful lives, and he’s left with just his thoughts to keep him company. 

In the distance, he can see the murky faces of naiads, sometimes just a flutter of hair or a small, lazy smile. They keep their space, and Changbin wonders if they know that he wants to be alone right now.

He thinks about his mom, and the brief phone call Chiron had allotted him. She kept apologizing, saying she should’ve told him earlier, but Changbin wasn’t mad. It is hard to dislike the woman who raised him when his father left them.

His father.

Changbin had gotten about a minute’s worth of time with him, and he hadn’t even introduced himself. A simple _Hey, I’m Poseidon. The guy who left you and your mother before you were even born_ , would’ve been nice. 

Maybe he doesn’t understand the whole “I’m a god” thing, but the least gods could do is avoid mortals. Chiron had told him that it is not so simple, that gods and goddesses are linked to mortals, to demigods, and vice versa.

Changbin takes a deep breath.

That doesn’t mean he has to like it.

—

In an attempt to avoid sleeping, Jisung goes where he knows Changbin will be.

He debates on jumping in himself, but eventually settles on sitting at the edge. His feet skim the surface of the lake, and he knows that Changbin will come. He has to.

It takes a couple of minutes, but the surface of the lake ripples, and Jisung’s met with a (surprisingly) very dry Changbin, who smiles at him from the lake.

“I missed dinner, didn’t I?” He asks, glancing back at the sinking sun. Jisung scoots back, pulling his knees to his chest as he nods. The water rises around Changbin, safely depositing him on the dock, right next to Jisung.

“I’ll never get over that,” He says softly, and Changbin’s staring at him, his head tilted curiously. 

“You can summon skeletons. Sense death. Teleport, and you think me staying dry in water is cool,” Changbin laughs, a bit of awe in his voice. 

“Yeah, but water isn’t all that scary. Death, on the other hand, is. People are scared of me. Of what I can do,” Jisung reminds him quietly, fingertips skimming the wooden planks below him. His finger gets caught in a groove, bending his nail back, and he inhales sharply, lifting his hand up. He cradles his finger until the throbbing lessens.

“Are they scared of Chan too?” Changbin asks, and it is only now that Jisung realizes there isn’t a single drop of water on him. Not fair, he thinks.

“Chan?” He repeats, unsure of how to answer. Changbin shrugs, obviously somewhat embarrassed for bringing him up.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t bother me. Not really,” Jisung admits.

Changbin goes silent. He feels very far away, despite the fact that he’s sitting right next to Jisung.

“You’re missing the bonfire,” comes from behind them, and Jisung ducks reflexively when Changbin jumps, water bursting up into the air. He lifts his head when it falls quiet, mumbling, “I cannot believe I’ve gotten used to that happening,” as Changbin laughs.

They both turn around to find the source of the voice, bursting into more laughter when they find Chan, who is absolutely _soaked_. Jisung has no idea how the water missed him, unless it arched upwards. Maybe Changbin meant for it to go after whoever scared him.

“Is this how you greet people?” Chan accuses, but his tone is light, a hint of a laugh bubbling up out of him. “I haven’t gotten it under control yet!” Changbin protests, scooting over. Jisung moves as well, and Chan squeezes in between the both of them.

“You can’t be that close, or you’ll get me wet too,” Jisung protests. He tries to move further away in order to get some space, and almost topples over the edge. His only saving grace is Chan tugging on his camp shirt, righting him back up into a sitting position. 

“Thanks,” Jisung mumbles, embarrassed. Chan laughs again, but doesn’t tease him, thankfully.

“You missed dinner,” Chan comments, head tilted to meet Changbin’s eyes now. Jisung looks away, focusing on the stretch of water in front of him. It’s almost completely dark outside, the sun having disappeared a while back.

“I was underwater,” Changbin explains, and Jisung has to stifle a giggle. 

“Underwater,” Chan repeats, and it is a few seconds before he puts it together. 

“Oh. You can breathe underwater, can’t you? Asshole. Leave some magical abilities for the rest of us,” Chan laments, and Jisung finds himself moving closer to the two of them, exclaiming, “That’s what _I_ said!” a little too loudly.

Chan’s eyes are gentle when he turns to look at him, a smile on his face. Jisung notices that he has two dimples to complement it, like two crescent moons.

He dismisses the thought.

“It’s just water! Like, yeah, it was kinda cool at first, but I don’t know. The way people look at me makes it less cool,” Changbin admits, shoulders curling. Jisung feels a fierce sense of protection wash over him, but he manages to subdue it.

“They don’t mean any harm. You’ll get used to it eventually,” Chan reassures, and Jisung realizes he’s holding his hand out. Changbin stares at him apprehensively, but places his own hand in the palm of Chan’s regardless, and Jisung watches as Chan’s fingers curl upwards, enclasping their hands together.

—

Changbin’s cabin is soothing, if he disregards his loneliness.

Lights out is at 11 o’clock sharp, but Changbin is in his bunk well before that, listening to the humming of camp dying down. 

He’s wide awake when Jisung materializes out of nowhere, stepping out from behind the fountain in the center of his cabin. Changbin has to stifle his scream, the feeling way too familiar to the one he experienced at the pool.

Jisung’s whispering an apology, but Changbin sits up regardless, insisting that he doesn’t mind. 

“I see you figured out a way around the curfew rule,” Changbin whispers back, and Jisung’s grinning now, seemingly pleased with himself. “You’re gonna get caught one of these days, you know,” Changbin adds, but he’s smiling.

“You’re the one who came to me last night,” Jisung reminds him, and Changbin concedes, but only briefly.

“Wine guy is gonna turn you into a dolphin.”

“Wanna live underwater with me then?” Jisung asks, moving over to his bunk. Changbin flushes, scooting over so they’re sitting side by side. Changbin lets out an awkward laugh, and they fall silent afterwards, eyes focusing on the floor. It’s comfortable, up until a certain point.

“You know, the funny thing is that I used to sleep fine before all of this,” Changbin whispers, when the silence grows too loud for him to bear. Jisung doesn’t meet his eyes, but Changbin knows he must feel the same.

“I should go. Wouldn’t wanna get turned into a dolphin, or get stuck on kitchen duty,” Jisung blurts out, and he melts into the shadows before Changbin can even say goodnight. He wishes Jisung would talk to him. He knows he hasn’t been sleeping lately, but Jisung refuses to budge.

—

The Ares cabin is on the opposing team, along with the Athena cabin, and Jisung’s been here long enough (more than two weeks now) to know that it’s a deadly combination. He’s seen the Ares kids doing combat training. It’s part of the reason he tries to get out of it, unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Jisung thinks they’re screwed, even if the campers let them have Changbin and Chan on their side. Something about making the game interesting, but Jisung really doesn’t care.

They get the East Woods, and one of the Hermes campers suggests putting the flag in a tree. Jisung tries not to roll his eyes at the suggestion, but she must notice his disdain from the way she narrows her eyes at him, almost as if daring him to say something.

“Where’s the son of Poseidon? We can put him by the river boundary,” Someone else suggests, and Jisung’s eyes flick up to meet Changbin’s, who has the smallest of smiles on his face. It’s enough to make Jisung relax. 

“We should put the flag as far out into the woods as we can. It’ll buy us some time,” Jisung suggests, and that same girl gives him an appraising glance, albeit begrudgingly. One of the senior counselors nods, but moves on to other parts of their battle plan.

They break up into smaller groups some minutes later, Jisung stumbling after Changbin.

“They stuck us on patrol so we’d take the brunt of it,” Jisung notes, desperately attempting to shift his armor into place. Changbin hums in response, pausing his movements to adjust the straps Jisung’s fiddling with.

“My lifesaver,” Jisung jokes, now much more comfortable as he raises his shield back up. 

“Should’ve paid attention when Chiron was demonstrating,” Changbin mumbles, letting go to draw his sword. _Xiphos_ , Jisung remembers. Changbin had explained that it was pretty popular among demigods nowadays, but Jisung didn’t think it was his weapon of choice. He’d gone for a very different kind.

If the other campers were wary of him _before_ he showed up to tonight’s game with a Stygian Iron sword, then that feeling must’ve increased tenfold as soon as they saw it in his hands. Jisung hadn’t particularly liked it either, but their weapons are supposed to act extensions of their body, and none of the other weapons even came close to this one. A

little bit of research led him to the realization that it’s a favored weapon for the children of Hades, and he had found solace in that.

Changbin tells him he’ll go upstream when they reach the river boundary, and he’s gone with a brief wave once Jisung nods in agreement. 

Jisung glances around him nervously, thinking about how dangerous the woods are.

Briefly, he wonders if he should put people’s fear of him to test. He glances at the ground below him, trying to extend his senses, like the way he’s been practicing. The woods are eerily quiet, with Jisung wondering if the opposing team is even going to attack, when the ground around him erupts. 

Changbin comes running back a couple of seconds later, skidding to a stop when he sees what Jisung’s done.

“Oh,” He says, a little breathless as Jisung grins.

“Using fear tactics. I like it,” He adds, but Jisung’s shooing him away, that way they aren’t defenseless when the opposing team finally attacks. He turns to the skeletons he’s gathered, but they’re already dispersing themselves among the riverbed.

“Please don’t kill anyone!” Jisung yells, and is relieved when he notices their lack of weapons. Jisung probably doesn’t have the power to summon them, which he doesn’t mind. 

The silence drones on, giving Jisung an idea.

“Stay here,” Jisung commands. None of them respond, of course, but he can sense their thoughts. He wonders if it’s a distance thing, but decides the risk is worth it as the world melts into shadows.

“Changbin,” He whispers, and the boy almost stabs him with his sword. 

“Dude! Don’t you recognize my voice?” Jisung yelps, backing away. Changbin apologizes, eyeing him cautiously. “You should be patrolling,” He reminds him, and Jisung agrees, grinning.

“I have a plan,” Jisung admits, and Changbin visibly perks up, gesturing for him to go on.

—

Jisung is a fucking genius. A terrifying, ridiculous genius.

Changbin’s insides lurch as they melt into the shadows together. He’s disoriented when they end up under one of the many trees, but Jisung grins widely as he steps out of the shadows. Changbin sighs, yanking him back.

“They’re gonna see you, genius,” He hisses, and Jisung clamps his mouth shut, crouching to the ground. They’re hidden by the shadows again as they look around the forest, trying to spot any signs of the opposing teams players.

“Do you think they have patrols past the river?” Jisung murmurs, and Changbin considers it. The other team had seemed pretty confident in their abilities, which would make their defenses pretty lax.

“I’ll bet you all the drachma I have that they didn’t set up too many defenses,” Changbin responds, still scanning the dense forest. He hears a howl from somewhere, and can’t help but flinch. Jisung’s reply is cut off by the sound of rustling, and Changbin braces himself.

A small group of campers bursts out from behind a tree, running towards the river. Their footsteps are light, but not enough to keep from breaking the dead leaves and branches scattered across the ground.

Jisung’s smiling.

“Lets go. We’re gonna run out of time,” He insists, holding out his hand. Changbin accepts, and his vision goes dark.

They aren’t so lucky this time. Jisung lands right in front of the group defending the flag, and Changbin barely has time to form a plan, ducking as a weapon swings over him.

Jisung moves to stand in front of him, and Changbin gets the message, shifting off to the side. None of the other campers seem to pay him any attention, too busy focusing on Jisung, so he runs, hoping no one follows. He finds himself in a small clearing, the flag planted in the middle.

Changbin’s about to start running towards it when he pauses, hesitating. _It’s too easy_ , he thinks.

He does a full spin, trying to see if there’s anyone hiding behind him.

Nothing.

He hesitates once more, before making a grab for it.

When he turns back around, he’s surrounded.

“ _Shit_ ,” He curses, looking for Jisung. No signs of him, just some scary-looking Ares kids. Of course they’d send them after Changbin. A closer look reveals Chan within them, who has that stupid smile on his face. 

“I think you have something that belongs to us,” one of them says, and Changbin flat out rolls his eyes. Distantly, he wonders if he’s too far away to control the river. It’d be convenient if it chose to flood right now.

He reaches out with his mind, and feels a familiar tug in his gut. He grins, calling out, “Well? What are you waiting for?” into the clearing.

Half a second passes, and the campers scramble after him, save for Chan, who must sense what’s going to happen.

The ground explodes, water bursting up into the air around him. Changbin wills it to take out the campers one by one, and he finally makes a run for it.

He almost runs into Chan, who flicks his wrist. A strong wind slams into Changbin, and he stumbles over, but refuses to lose his grip on the flag. 

“I swear this is nothing personal,” Chan apologizes, and Changbin gets back up, grinning. Chan draws his sword, apologizing once again, but Changbin isn’t paying attention. He hears thunder rumbling somewhere in the distance.

“A storm?” He asks, still smiling.

Chan shrugs, looking up at the sky.

Changbin takes this as his shot, urging an underwater spring to move up to the surface and churn around Chan’s feet. He doesn’t know how he can sense nearby water sources, but it doesn’t matter right now, not when Chan’s stuck in his very own whirlpool of water, incapacitated.

Changbin smiles politely, waving goodbye.

He runs out of the clearing, back into the woods, and almost crashes into Jisung, who yells at the sight of the flag in Changbin’s grip.

“No fucking way,” He mutters, yanking Changbin along.

“Do you think we’ll make it past the border?” Changbin asks, but Jisung doesn’t answer, urging him to run faster. They stumble across a Hermes camper — Felix, maybe — who appears shocked at the sight of the flag, and Changbin throws it to him.

“Carry it,” Changbin forces out in between breaths, as he and Jisung split up. They fan out as best as they can, determined to get to the boundary.

One of the Ares campers — Changbin thinks his name is Jake, but he’s not sure — jumps out of nowhere, but Jisung thrusts his hands up, and the skeleton crawling out of the earth is enough for him to blanch, stumbling backwards to avoid it.

Even the guy holding the flag looks a little terrified. Changbin wishes he had the time to ask for his name. 

“We’re almost there,” Changbin calls out instead, and he motions for them to run faster. They break through the trees, and Jisung’s yelling, “I can hear them coming!” when Changbin summons a wall of water, carrying the camper and the flag safely across the water.

Chan breaks through the trees first, but he’s smiling, surprisingly.

“Finally. Some competition,” He says, raising an eyebrow at the both of them. Jisung’s gaze shifts to the river, muttering, “What the fuck did they do to the skeletons?”

Before anyone can respond, a bunch of campers from the Athena cabin materialize, followed by the few magic users of Hecate’s cabin. One of the boys (Seungmin, he thinks) is holding their flag, but it’s too late. They’d already lost.

Seungmin sighs, dropping the flag onto the ground.

“Not fair,” He grumbles.

Changbin raises an eyebrow at the sight.

“You guys are the ones who didn’t want us,” Changbin reminds him, watching the way he goes red with realization. Chan coughs from behind him, stifling a laugh.

Jisung looks over at Changbin, smiling brightly, and a small thrill rushes through him.

—

Chan is bubbling with excitement when Changbin and Jisung meet him for breakfast at the mess hall the next morning.

“First of all, how did you get past our patrols?” Chan blurts out through a mouthful of toast, and, well, it’s not exactly the first thing Changbin wants to see in the morning. Jisung snickers at the sight as he sits, and Changbin feels a sense of pride wash over him from leaving Chan at a loss for answers.

“Can’t tell you,” Changbin says, smiling lopsidedly. Jisung mimics zipping his mouth shut, throwing an invisible key over his shoulder.

“I’m surprised you even had patrols. You guys seemed very confident,” Jisung admits, and Changbin is quick to nod.

“I told them we should’ve had more people patrolling,” Chan complains, having finally swallowed his food. “They all see me as some sort of leader, but never actually listen to me,” Chan continues, sighing as he shoves another forkful of food into his mouth.

“The skeletons scared the shit out of everyone, by the way,” He adds, and Jisung grins. Changbin reaches over to squeeze his hand reassuringly.

“What I don’t understand is ho—“ Chan begins, and Jisung sighs, very loudly, throwing a napkin across the table and cutting him off.

“Chew first, speak later,” He orders, and Changbin watches the way Chan’s cheeks flush red. He drops his gaze when he feels his own face heat up, and they’re all silent as they eat.

—

Chan’s started joining them at the docks now, has been for the past week. It’s unspoken, how they all seem to go back to the same place, no matter how tired or busy they may be.

Changbin likes it, the familiarity of the water lapping at the columns below them, the way Jisung laughs at whatever dumb story he’s telling them. He likes watching the sun dip below the horizon, and listening to the sounds of everyone preparing for the bonfire.

Sometimes he can see the naiads drifting through the water, but the most he sees are glimpses of gentle smiles moving through the water. Jisung always asks how come he’s the only one that can see them, but Changbin never has an answer for him.

Changbin plays with the water as they talk, swirling it up and around in the air carefully, gently. A gust of wind dissolves it, and he glances over accusingly at Chan.

“Wasn’t me,” He insists, but he’s smiling. Changbin sighs in defeat, focusing his attention back onto Chan and Jisung.

“For people who spend a lot of time at the docks, we never swim,” Changbin observes.

“Not all of us can breathe underwater,” Jisung retorts, and Chan looks over at him in surprise. 

“You can breathe underwater?” He repeats. Changbin flushes, nodding his head. 

“No way,” Chan murmurs, staring at him curiously. 

“I learned that I could create air bubbles through a freak fish accident the other day, you know,” Changbin admits, and Jisung perks up, insisting that they have to go into the lake now. 

He caves eventually, and then they’re all jumping off of the dock together, sort of like the way they used to do as kids.

Changbin watches the way Jisung bursts into a smile at the sight of a bubble enveloping around him. He reaches out with his mind, just in time to hear _he’s so cute_ coming from Jisung. His face burns red, especially when he notices Jisung staring at him. 

Jisung’s looking at him quizzically now, but Changbin shakes his head. 

_So? What do you think?_

Chan quirks an eyebrow at him, and hears _Should I even be surprised?_ within his mind. 

_No. No, you shouldn’t_ , Changbin thinks. Jisung’s avoiding his eyes, probably having realized he heard him earlier, so Changbin swims over, tapping on the bubble gently, that way he doesn’t burst it.

 _Cute_ , he thinks, projecting his thoughts, and watches Jisung blush, satisfied. Changbin moves back, smiling, as he says — or thinks, really — _I miss swimming_.

 _Right. You were on your college’s team, weren’t you?_ Chan asks, sympathy digging into his features. Changbin nods as he moves, trying to float, but he gives up after a couple of seconds, opting to sink to the floor of the lake instead. He watches as Chan and Jisung join him.

 _This is so weird_ , Jisung admits.

Changbin shrugs. Sure, he still isn’t used to hearing them without _actually_ hearing them, but he supposes there are worse things out there. Jisung swims over to him as best as he can, except he gains too much momentum, swirling past Changbin instead. He leaves a trail of bubbles in his wake.

Changbin laughs, a weird, gurgling sound underwater, and wills the lake’s current to push Jisung back.

 _Sorry. I have no idea how to control these_.

What a shame. Neither does Changbin. He’d spent the other day sitting at the bottom of the lake, entertaining the fishes, who, by the way, couldn’t believe that he was actually the son of Poseidon, when he figured it out.

He doesn’t even know how it’d happened, just that one of the fishes was suddenly in a bubble, and the rest of them were threatening to bite his fingers off, one by one, if he didn’t get it out. He’d panicked for all of three seconds, right up until he realized he could try popping the bubble.

Long story short, he got to keep his fingers.

He’s pulled out of his thoughts by Chan, who’s motioning towards the surface.

 _I have to go_ , he mouths, and Changbin has to pretend he isn’t disappointed. He’s gotten too used to his presence these days. Jisung watches him float up, and turns to Changbin.

_You too?_

Jisung nods, and Changbin’s feet find purchase on the rocky bottom of the lake, pushing himself upwards. Jisung breaks the surface with a gasp, inhaling the air. Chan’s sitting at the edge of the dock, shaking the water off of his arms and legs.

“We did not think this through. Everyone’s gonna know we were screwing around at the bonfire,” Chan mutters, now shaking his head wildly. Stray drops hit Changbin as he swims over. Jisung flinches beside him as well, protesting.

“I don’t remember attending bonfires being required,” Jisung points out, hoisting himself up onto the wooden planks. Chan scoots back, that way Changbin can do the same. 

“Well, it’d look weird if we don’t go,” Chan points out, and Changbin has to agree, no matter how much he doesn’t want to.

Jisung sighs, flopping down onto the dock. He winces, but doesn’t say anything. Chan stands up, running a hand through his hair. His shirt sticks to his body as he slips it back on, and Changbin averts his eyes as he gathers his things, ready to leave.

“I’ll see you guys later,” Changbin mumbles eventually, half-jogging, half-walking to back towards his cabin.

—

Jisung feels tingles run up his spine when Chan holds out his hand, lifting him up from the surface of the dock. 

“You’re gonna show up, right? I’ll save you guys a seat,” Chan offers, giving him that stupid, wide smile. Jisung really likes it. “You guys usually show up to places together,” Chan explains as an afterthought, and he looks over to smile at Jisung.

“Yeah. I’ll be there, but no singing. Please,” Jisung pleads, and Chan bursts into laughter.

“You’ll warm up to it eventually,” Chan reassures him, slinging an arm around his shoulder. Jisung makes a face at the physical contact, but doesn’t push him away. Chan’s a lot warmer than him.

They go their separate ways when they reach the cabins, Chan squeezing his shoulder and calling out a goodbye. Jisung leaves wet footprints all over his floor as he heads over to one of his drawers, searching for a spare shirt.

When he’s changed, he finds Changbin sitting on his cabin porch.

“I think we’re late,” Jisung admits. He can hear the singing already, and Changbin twists to smile at him. “Think we can sneak in?” Changbin asks, pushing himself up from the wooden porch. 

There’s a warm, summer breeze outside, one that curls around Jisung and raises the hair on the back of his neck as they walk towards the amphitheater.

Changbin mumbles something about it being dark, before wrapping a dainty arm around Jisung’s.

“Scaredy-cat,” Jisung accuses, but he doesn’t protest any further. 

Their arrival goes unnoticed by everyone except Chan, who’s seated himself all the way into the back. Jisung squeezes his way through the crowd, Changbin trailing behind him.

“You came,” Chan says as a way of greeting them, and Jisung can’t fight back the stupid smile on his face. Changbin raises the hand that isn’t latched onto Jisung’s side, waving. 

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Jisung jokes, carefully taking a seat. Changbin leans forward in his seat to smile at Chan, and content washes over Jisung. 

No one really pays them any attention, especially since they’re seated all the way in the back. The bonfire is huge tonight, an indication of the campers’ excitement.

Jisung shifts so he’s leaning back against the wall of the amphitheater, eyes flicking up to the sky. Chan leans back with him, murmuring, “Do you know much about constellations?” over the sound of terrible, off-key singing.

When Jisung shakes his head no, Chan points somewhere to his left.

“You see that really bright star? Towards the left? That’s Spica. The surrounding stars make up the Virgo constellation,” He explains, and Jisung has no clue what he’s supposed to be looking at. To his eyes, it’s star after star, a sea of twinkling lights in the night sky. Maybe it’s different for Chan, and he sees a world of puzzle pieces, except in his case it’s stars fitting together, and Jisung wonders what it’s like to see the world with beauty. 

He shakes his head, trying to snap out of it.

“Hey, I’m a Virgo!” Jisung blurts out, feeling excited now. Chan glances at him appreciatively, smiling. Jisung’s heart is thrumming in his rib cage.

“You can’t see shit, can you?” Chan finally asks, and Jisung can’t hold back his laughter.

“Fuck, dude. I’m so sorry. You just got all excited, and I didn’t wanna ruin it for you,” Jisung admits, looking over at him apologetically. He really wishes he hadn’t dude-d him.

“It’s fine,” Chan says, focusing back up on the sky. Changbin glances back at them, smiling. Jisung pulls on Changbin’s arm, and they all lean against the wall together.

He doesn’t know how much time passes before the campfire ends, but he wishes it lasted longer. They only have an hour’s worth of free time before curfew — if Jisung decides he’s tired enough to actually listen for once. He’s learned to hate sleep and the nightmares it carries.

Chan and Changbin both seem content as they walk back towards the cabins, and the sight is comforting. 

“I keep forgetting you have cabins next to each other. The least they could’ve done is put the Big 3 cabins together,” Jisung mutters as they reach his cabin, and Changbin looks over at him, reaching to ruffle his hair.

“You wanna be around us that badly?” He teases, his smile shining even underneath the dim lighting. Jisung drapes an arm around Changbin’s shoulder, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek.

“Of course I do,” He drawls out, and Chan looks back for the briefest of seconds, a hint of a smile spreading. Jisung swallows back any tangible emotions pushing their way to the surface, and moves away from Changbin with a quiet laugh.

Jisung bids them both goodnight a few seconds later, pushing open the door to his cabin. He can hear everyone else chattering excitedly, and it makes the silence in his cabin even louder.

He stares at the jewel-encrusted skulls lining the walls as he enters, and fights back a dreary sigh at the thought of sleep.

—

Changbin’s brushing up on his breaststroke (Chiron won’t let him leave camp until summer’s over) when he faintly hears someone calling his name. He breaks through the surface of the lake, looking for the source.

Distantly, he sees a figure standing on shore, waving. Chan, he thinks, and something akin to happiness floods through his body, leaving him feeling as if he’s on top of the world. 

He resumes his swimming, allowing the water to guide him along. When he reaches shore, he’s smiling with the grace of an idiot.

“You were gonna miss dinner,” Chan calls out, towel in hand. Changbin accepts it. He hates coming out of the water dry, like there’s something terribly wrong with him. Years of swimming are engrained into his mind, and those habits don’t break easily. Some things you just can’t forget. 

He still wakes up in the mornings, wondering why his roommate hasn’t woken him up with his incessant yelling, or why his alarm isn’t there to remind him of his eight am class. He finds himself walking around mindlessly, searching for something that isn’t there. He goes to the lake everyday now, trying to make up for the hole in his heart, but the water is chlorine-free and smells weird, and Changbin does not have his goggles or his gear anymore, and it is not the same. Everything is so different from before. 

Changbin knows Jisung must feel the same because of how he shows up to breakfast with red-rimmed eyes and slouched shoulders, not in the mood for conversations. Those days always leave Changbin wishing he could do more for him.

“Where would I be without you?” Changbin proclaims as he finally accepts the towel, dragging it through his hair. Chan watches him struggle, before stepping forward. “God, you’re like, this amazing swimmer, but you have no idea how to dry your hair,” He scolds, and Changbin’s heart flutters at their proximity. If Changbin stood up, just a little, he could kiss him.

Chan makes eye contact with him, stepping away.

“There,” He says softly, thrusting the towel back to Changbin. 

“Jisung’s waiting,” Chan adds, and Changbin’s stomach lurches at the mention of him. It lurches the same way it does whenever he hears Chan’s voice, and that scares him.

They walk to Jisung’s cabin together, finding him waiting for them outside.

“I’m banning you from the lake. I could’ve sworn I would pass out from hunger by the time you came back,” Jisung announces, dramatically clutching at his abdomen. Changbin rolls his eyes, but guilt tugs at his heartstrings. He has a terrible habit of getting too wrapped up in himself and forgetting the people around him.

“Next time just send a couple of skeletons after me. Teach me a lesson,” Changbin jokes, moving to wrap an arm around Jisung, who pretty much leans into his touch. Chan walks by their side, hands in the pockets of his washed-out shorts as he smiles.

—

Jisung manages to convince them to skip the bonfire, insisting they go to the beach instead. It doesn’t take much for Changbin to bashfully agree, eyes glancing over at Chan to gauge his answer.

Jisung doesn’t miss the way Changbin smiles when he, too, agrees.

Chan asks one of the Demeter kids, a warm-eyed, gentle boy who introduces himself as Hyunjin, if they have any spare blankets. Hyunjin’s eyes gleam as he hands them one from their cabin with a kind smile, before disappearing in the direction of the bonfire.

Jisung spreads the blanket out on the sand, far enough from the waves, and gestures for Chan and Changbin to join him. 

When Changbin sits, Jisung rests his head in his lap, ignoring the small yell of surprise from him.

“You’re much more comfortable than the sand,” Jisung admits, shifting so he’s resting the side of his face on Changbin’s leg. He can feel Chan watching.

“Yeah, well, your head is heavy as shit,” Changbin grunts, but he makes no move to get rid of Jisung. Instead, he threads a hand through his hair, playing with it gently. He can feel nails scraping at his scalp, and he sighs contentedly at the touch. 

Chan lays down parallel to Jisung, facing the stars.

Jisung thinks he’d like to hold his hand.

“Are there any astronomy classes here?” Jisung asks instead, stifling a yawn. “I kinda wanna take one,” He adds, realizing the question must’ve sounded strange out of context.

“No. I tried to get them to create one, but they said it wasn’t necessary, even after I told them they could teach campers how to navigate using stars as a compass,” Chan explains. If Jisung looks close enough, he can make out the frown on his face.

“It’s so simple though. Finding Polaris — the North Star — tells you which way is north. If you can find Cassiopeia, then you know which way is true east and true west. Wouldn’t that come in handy one day?” Chan rambles urgently, and Jisung has to resist the urge to kiss him silly. He brushes the thought away.

“You just look at the Big Dipper. Polaris is five times the distance from the two pointer stars, and always in the direction on top of the dipper. True north is always right below Polaris,” Chan continues, and Jisung can see his excitement now, sees it in the way he gestures with his hands and he speaks a little too quickly.

“Plus, it’s always at the same angle above the horizon as your particular latitude. So all you have to do is make a fist to know where you are latitudinally,” Chan explains. Changbin lets out a quiet hum, and Jisung knows he’s smiling.

Jisung holds out his hand, and the pressure from his head lifts as Changbin accepts it, threading their fingers together smoothly. Chan reaches out as well, and this time Jisung has to move a little in order to accept it, but he links their fingers regardless.

“Too bad three-way hand holding isn’t a thing,” Jisung sighs, and the thought alone elicits a giggle from him. “No, but there are other things,” Changbin adds, his voice low.

“Yeah? You wanna specify?” Jisung questions, craning his neck just in time to see blush paint Changbin’s cheeks a pretty shade of red. “You know what I mean,” Changbin mumbles, and yeah, maybe he does. Maybe he gets the implication behind Changbin’s words, behind the three of them, but he doesn’t voice it out loud.

Jisung doesn’t break eye contact with Changbin, waiting for his explanation.

“It’s embarrassing, Sung. I can’t say it,” Changbin protests, and Jisung’s heart soars at the nickname. “Can I take a guess?” Chan asks, and a weird mixture of dread and excitement churn in the pit of Jisung’s stomach. Chan lifts the hand joined with Jisung’s so he can lay on his side, facing the both of them.

Changbin nods hesitantly, and Chan says, quite confidently, “You meant a relationship.”

Jisung sucks in a sharp breath, glancing between the two of them. 

“Specifically with all three of us,” Chan adds, and Jisung thinks he’s going to throw up. What are the odds that all three of them feel that same way?

 _Minuscule_ , he thinks, but the look on Changbin’s face tells him otherwise.

None of them say anything for what feels like an eternity, and the sound of waves crashing is barely audible over the blood rushing inside of Jisung’s ears. 

Then, Chan smiles, and the noise lessens.

“So, we all feel the same way then?” and it is not a particularly significant question, but the tips of Jisung’s fingers tingle regardless. He’s a little breathless.

“Yeah,” Jisung confirms, and he cranes his neck once more to meet Changbin’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Changbin repeats, and the dam inside of Jisung breaks. Jisung really doesn’t know what overcomes him, but the tears slip out of his eyes anyways, and his shoulders shake as he cries for the first time in ages.

Chan is the first to react, sitting up and letting go of Jisung’s hand so his fingertips can brush along Jisung’s cheekbone, before moving to under his eyes in an attempt to wipe his tears. 

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying,” Jisung hiccups, and his now free hand moves to cup Chan’s, who smiles at him. Chan’s smile is an understanding one, and Jisung takes comfort in the reserves of kindness he sees in it.

Changbin tugs at him, gently pulling him into a sitting position. 

“Can I hug you? Is that okay?” Changbin murmurs. Jisung nods, scooting closer, and lets Changbin wrap his arms around him. Chan reaches out with his hand, and Jisung accepts.

“I’m just really surprised,” Jisung admits, voice muffled by Changbin’s orange camp shirt, but he doesn’t move. “It feels so natural, being with you guys. I never once stopped to think about it,” He continues. Neither of them respond, almost as if they can sense he has more to say.

Jisung has to hold back a sob. They understand each other so well.

“It was just us. At the docks, at the bonfires, wherever. All I knew was that I liked it,” Jisung admits, and he’s feeling brave enough to meet Chan’s eyes. “And I never told you guys when I was having bad days — not once — but you always seemed to know.”

“And, when I first got here, it was so bad. I couldn’t stop thinking about my mom. I couldn’t sleep. I never really talked about it though, because I thought it was something I needed to get through on my own, but you guys helped without even knowing.”

This time, when Jisung glances up, Chan’s crying with him. Changbin’s mumbles something under his breath, but Jisung can hear him sniffling.

“I don’t know. I’m just happy that it worked out this way, with you guys,” Jisung finishes, and he feels stripped raw, vulnerable, in front of the two people he cares so fiercely about.

Chan reaches out to fix his hair, tears shining, and this time, Jisung’s there to brush them away.

They listen to the ocean until Jisung’s breathing becomes even, and the stars move along in the sky. A sense of calm washes over him, the kind he hasn’t felt in weeks, just from being in Chan and Changbin’s company.

“What happens after summer?” Changbin finally asks, his voice scratchy as he breaks the silence.

“We’ll return to each other. Even if we drift apart,” Jisung says, firmly, and when he looks over at the two of them, they’re smiling.

“Promise?” Changbin questions, and he holds out his pinky finger. Jisung loops his own pinky around Changbin’s, repeating, “Promise.”

Chan does the same.

And, despite it all, it’s just them, listening to the lull of the waves and each other’s heartbeats.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Rough trip?” Chan asks, a barely there smile on his face.
> 
> “Yeah. Something like that.” Jisung’s smiling too, through the dried ichor and dust.
> 
> “We came back to you. Just like we said we would,” and Chan’s heart breaks for them, for the people he loves dearly.
> 
> “You came back to me,” He repeats, crying.

The third time Changbin sees Jisung cry is when they visit his old apartment.

Jisung had started shaking the second they reached the complex, and no amount of whispered words or hands brushing over knuckles could reassure him enough.

When they step through the door to the building, Jisung’s shoulders shake with sobs, and Changbin wraps his arm around them, gently reminding him, “You don’t have to do this, Jisung,” Chan nods in agreement, glancing over at Changbin worriedly.

But, it is not like Jisung to give up so easily, which is how the three of them find themselves standing in front of the door to Jisung’s old apartment, quietly staring at the police tape strung across the door. Jisung lets out a choked sound at the sight, one that makes Changbin’s skin _crawl_ with discomfort, and it’s enough for Chan to rip off the tape, balling it up in his fist.

Jisung digs around in his pockets, revealing a key. His hands shake as he tries to fit in the slot, but he won’t let Changbin or Chan help him.

“I have to do this,” He insists, voice dangerously wobbling, almost as if he’s about to teeter off of the edge of a cliff. “ _I_ have to do this,” Jisung repeats, and Changbin feels hollow.

Jisung takes a deep breath once he finally gets the door open, reluctantly stepping inside. 

“It’s so messy. Probably hasn’t been cleaned since—” Jisung cuts himself off abruptly, stepping around a broken picture frame. Changbin scoops it up, flipping it over, and Jisung squeezes his eyes shut. 

“I know every single detail. Nothing has faded from my memory,” He says. Changbin places the picture frame on the small table next to the couch, and Jisung opens his eyes again.

“I have to clean. Pick up everything. I want the landlord to give our— _her_ —deposit back. Gods. What am I even gonna do with it?” Jisung’s voice is trembling again, and Chan is the first to soothe him.

“Well, lets start off by cleaning,” Chan suggests. Jisung nods, but he doesn’t move. Changbin doesn’t prod at his silence, just wanders into the kitchen in search of cleaning supplies. Distantly, he can hear Chan speaking.

When he returns, Jisung is less shaken, something akin to clarity gleaming in his eyes instead, and it is a stark contrast to a few minutes ago.

“We should split up. Someone in the kitchen, another one in the living room. It’ll be easier that way,” Jisung suggests.

“Do you want one of us to take care of the bedrooms?” Chan asks, softly, as he curls his fingers into the ends of Jisung’s hair, a gesture that calms him. Jisung shakes his head, telling them once again that this is something _he_ needs to do as he walks down the hallway.

Chan takes the kitchen, so Changbin starts on the living room, picking up broken glass with a broom and dust pan. Jisung returns a few minutes later, carrying empty boxes. 

“The furniture was here when we moved in, but everything else has to go,” He explains, and he’s got this ghostly look in his eyes, as if he isn’t really there with them. Changbin doesn’t point it out, opting to take the boxes from his hands instead. 

Changbin starts with the picture frames that hold a young Jisung and his mother, smiling softly. They both look so happy together. _Looked_ , the dangerous voice in the back of his head reminds him. His face sours at the realization, and he hurriedly places the pictures in the box. 

He stands up from the ground, wandering into the hallway.

“Jisung? Love? Do you want me to label the boxes?” He calls out, stopping by one of the doorways. Judging from the inside, it must’ve been his mother’s room. He recognizes the lump curled up on the bed as Jisung immediately, his knees tucked up to his chest. Changbin’s heart bleeds for him.

“Baby,” Changbin murmurs, and the bed dips as he strides across the room to settle on the edge of it. Jisung sniffles, burying his face deeper into the covers. Changbin smooths down his hair, trying to smile in a weak attempt to offer some comfort.

“It’s okay. You’re okay,” Changbin reassures. He can hear someone moving down the hall, and it isn’t long before Chan’s curled up next to Jisung, hugging him.

“You can’t do this alone. Not all of it,” Chan tells him, and his tone is just the right amount of serious without crossing over into reprimandation. 

“We’re here for a reason, you know. You don’t have to carry it all by yourself,” Changbin adds, quietly, and he’s brushing a stray hair out of Jisung’s forehead. 

He doesn’t say anything in response, but the flow of tears slowly lessens.

Jisung sits back up eventually, fingers curling into the sheets beneath him.

“There’s so much to do,” He says tiredly, moving to the edge of the bed. Both Chan and Changbin get up, trying to give him some space.

“I have markers in the bottom left drawer on my desk,” Jisung tells him, and it takes a second for Changbin to understand what he’s talking about. 

“Okay,” He says. 

There’s a brief pause, and Changbin’s brave enough to venture towards him.

“You’re okay, right?” He asks, a stupid question considering the circumstances. Jisung nods almost immediately, but he seems distracted. 

Changbin can feel Chan’s eyes, even if he can’t see him. He lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, forcing himself to move towards the door. Chan’s hand skimps the curve of his spine as he walks out, offering him a small smile. Changbin matches it.

“I’ll take care of him,” Chan murmurs. 

Changbin steps out into the hall, glancing around for Jisung’s room. He finds it without difficulty, hesitantly stepping inside. 

The longer you know someone, the more predictable they get, which is why Changbin is not surprised when he has to walk around a strewn _Economics: Principles and Practices_ textbook, and a pile of clothes. Faintly, he remembers Jisung admitting he’d been ready to throw it at Hades.

The markers are in the bottom left drawer, just like Jisung said they would be. He’s tempted to stop by Jisung and Chan, but he doubts it’d be wise.

Changbin uncaps the marker, and attempts to write _Photos_ across one of the boxes in neat handwriting.

—

“Can we talk about it later?” Jisung pleads, trying to read Chan’s expression carefully. He feels especially drained today.

“Promise?” Chan asks, and Jisung lets out a sigh of relief, his chest deflating. 

“Always,” Jisung swears, smiling graciously at the other boy.

“Always,” Chan repeats, and Jisung feels the way he brushes his fingers along Jisung’s knuckles, smiling all the meanwhile. He shivers at the contact.

Chan leaves him alone in his mother’s room, and that is when Jisung sinks to the ground, trying to catch his breath. He hasn’t been home all summer, nor has he allowed himself to even think about going back. It was Chan who had suggested it, Changbin who convinced Chiron to let the three of them leave camp together. He’s never heard Changbin speak so furiously, as if the world spinning rightly on its axis depended solely on Jisung going home. 

_You can’t force him to stay here year-round. He’s starting college in the fall. The least you could do is let him clean out his apartment._

Jisung blinks, trying to anchor himself back to the present, on what’s happening around him.

He glances around his mom’s room as he gets up, wondering what he should do with all of her belongings. The thought almost overwhelms him, but he manages to keep it at bay.

Jisung starts with the knickknacks and trinkets, piling together ticket stubs and folded bookmarks into a box, that way he can save them. _She’s always been a hoarder_ , he thinks. 

While he’s doing so, he comes across a stack of envelopes tucked into the depths of her dresser drawer. He almost puts them in the trash pile, thinking they’re empty, but something makes him hesitant to do so. Cautiously, he opens one of them, and finds a piece of paper inside.

He unfolds the paper, inhaling sharply at the sight of his mom’s handwriting. A quick scan makes him realize the letter was meant for Hades, and Jisung’s stunned.

She knew.

Shaking his head in an attempt to distract himself, he resumes poring over the letters. They’re all addressed to Hades, depicting milestones—the big ones, and the ones in between—in his life.

The most recent one is from June, and a fresh wave of tears takes over Jisung as he reads about how proud his mother was when he graduated. He remembers the way he’d cried into her arms after the ceremony ended; he remembers the gleam in her eyes and the hint of proudness splashed throughout her features.

“She never sent them, but I was there for everything,” comes the voice behind him, and Jisung fumbles, dropping the letter and envelope.

When he turns around to find Hades behind him, he’s angered.

“You weren’t there. Don’t you dare say that,” Jisung snaps, scrambling to his feet. He’s dressed exactly the same way he was last time, except if Jisung leans in a bit closer, he can see _something_ shifting in his robes. His face twists in disgust.

“You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to show up out of nowhere, talking about how you know me, about my mother,” Jisung continues, and is sickly satisfied at the pain dragging across his father’s features. 

“Jisung?” He hears Chan call out, and Hades vanishes into the shadows.

“Yeah?” Jisung calls back, his voice trembling. 

“Who are you talking to?” Chan questions, poking his head into the doorway. Jisung breathes in shakily. “No one,” He lies, but he can’t stop staring at the spot where Hades had stood, almost as if he’s going to re-appear any second. 

“Jisung,” Chan frowns, waiting for an explanation. Jisung busies himself with the letters, shoving them haphazardly into the box next to him. “ _Jisung_ ,” Chan says, again, and Jisung throws the letters down, head in his hands. 

“Please. Not right now,” He mumbles, and Chan nods. He sits next to Jisung, but doesn’t say anything. 

He lets Jisung pull himself together, because there are some things Chan simply cannot do.

—

Changbin hasn’t been home all summer. 

He doesn’t know how to tell Chan and Jisung that he’s leaving early.

It feels like the days just slipped through their fingertips, the sun sinking below the horizon too quickly, the bonfires burning out a little too soon. 

Changbin stares at his meager possessions. Sword. Two spare camp shirts. Socks and underwear from the Hermes cabin. Some shells he’d found when he went swimming with Chan and Jisung. He doesn’t know what to do with it all.

A knock pulls him out of his thoughts, and he turns around to find Chan standing there.

“What’s all this? Laundry day?” Chan jokes, leaning in the doorway. He looks good, impossibly good in his bright camp shirt and shorts. “Not exactly,” Changbin responds, wondering where Jisung is. He can’t tell them separately.

“Have you seen Jisung?” Changbin continues, and he’s by the doorway now, peering over Chan’s shoulders. “Not recently. Why? Is something up?” Chan asks, worried now.

“Sort of? Not really. I don’t know. Wait here,” Changbin tells him, slipping through the doorway. He goes to the lake first, and finds him at the edge of the docks. Changbin hesitates, wondering if he should go get Chan.

“He’s so predictable,” comes from behind him, and Changbin’s question is answered. “I think he likes routine,” Changbin says, thickly, and Chan hums in agreement.

“You have something to tell us,” Chan observes. He’s standing by his side now, hands in his pockets as he smiles. The sun’s setting again. Another day burned; another day closer to summer fading.

Changbin’s always been transparent.

“Yeah. I do,” Changbin admits, and he forces himself to move. Chan follows his footsteps, and they make themselves at home next to Jisung.

Changbin’s feet skim the water, like always.

“I have to leave earlier,” He says, and his voice floats out over the water, rising and falling.

He watches the water ripple, too afraid to look at the two of them, too afraid to voice his fears.

“That’s okay. We’ll return to each other,” Jisung says, so confident and sure of himself. Changbin wants to share Jisung’s confidence. “Jisung’s right,” Chan adds, almost as if he can sense his apprehensiveness. 

“I have to go see my mom. Get settled into my dorm for this year,” Changbin explains. A twist of a finger and a spiral of water spins up from the lake. He’s gotten better at that, at learning his powers and abilities. Something jumps out of the water, right through the spiral.

A skeleton.

“Is that a dead fish?” Changbin laughs, and Jisung has this proud smile on his face. 

“Apparently, control over the world of the dead isn’t limited to humans. It’s harder, but I can do it if I focus hard enough,” Jisung clarifies. Changbin summons the spout again, and Jisung’s face is one of concentration now, eyebrows scrunched and lower lip jutting out. 

Nothing.

Changbin laughs gleefully as Jisung sighs, mumbling something about getting him next time.

Distantly, Changbin hears thunder, and a mini raincloud appears over his head.

“ _Hey_! That’s not fair,” Changbin complains, shoulders slumping as the rain hits him. He moves to the side, but it follows. Chan and Jisung are both laughing at him.

Changbin braces himself, and pushes off of the docks in an attempt to escape. Chan and Jisung’s laughter is muffled through the water.

When he resurfaces, the raincloud is gone.

“You win this time,” Changbin mutters, hoisting himself back up. He turns to look at the two boys next to him, Jisung pressed against Chan’s side, and an ache cracks his heart wide open. He doesn’t want summer to end. 

“You’re gonna come back to me. To us,” Jisung insists, extending his pinky finger. Chan does the same, and Changbin is thinking about that night on the beach again.

“No matter what,” Changbin vows, meeting them halfway.

—

Chan doesn’t have anyone to go to.

He’s been at camp for years now, so he’s one of the few people that stay year-round—as if he couldn’t stand out any more than he already does.

He tells Jisung and Changbin that he’ll still be here, waiting for the both of them, but that doesn’t ease Jisung’s quiet sniffling or Changbin’s teary eyes when they inevitably say goodbye. 

That’s the thing about summer. 

It ends too soon, and leaves Chan feeling empty.

He lingers for as long as possible regardless, standing on the crest of the hill with the both of them. The other campers left hours ago, and Jisung said he’d leave with Changbin so it’d be easier on him.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Jisung cries, and he’s hugging him again. Changbin is more reserved, but Chan catches him wiping his tears when he thinks that neither of them are looking. “Come here,” He says, softly.

They’re both in Chan’s arms, and he wants to remember this feeling. Wants to remember the sea breeze tickling his nose and the way Jisung’s nose brushes against his cheek, and the way Changbin burrows closer, tucking his head over Chan’s shoulder.

That’s the thing about summer. 

Goodbyes always creep up when he least expects it, and they never get any easier.

“I’ll write. We’ll write. Me one week, Changbin the next. We’ll come back to you,” Jisung says, voice muffled, and Chan untangles himself from the two of them. “Focus on school. Don’t worry about me,” He tells them, and they both explode into protests.

Chan is not used to this, to having people he cares about, to having people care about him.

“We’re expecting letters back, you know,” Changbin reminds him, gently, and he reaches out to cup Chan’s cheek. Chan covers Changbin’s hand with his own, leaning into his touch.

“You’ll get letters back,” He promises.

—

Chan buzzes with excitement when he sees an envelope in the mail exactly a week later, followed by handwriting that he recognizes as Jisung’s.

Jisung rambles in his letter, telling him about how he accidentally got lost on his way to his first college class ever, and had to apologize to the professor in front of the entire lecture hall.

 _It was so embarrassing. Part of me was really glad that you and Changbin weren’t there to make fun of me, but you’re probably laughing as you read this._

He’s right. Chan turns the page. It’s titled with a different date, in different ink, and Chan realizes that Jisung must be writing whatever comes to mind throughout the week.

_I was going to keep my letters short, but, that first night? In my dorm? That’s when I really realized you weren’t with me. With us._

_I think writing to you makes it easier to deal with, so, I’m sorry if this is too long._

Chan moves to the next entry. _Huh. Entry_ , he thinks. Sort of like a diary.

_It rained today. I guess summer’s really coming to an end._

_I forgot to bring an umbrella when I left, and so did Changbin, but he didn’t get a single drop on him. Made me think of all the times we went down to the lake. Changbin and I spend a lot of time at the pool, even when he doesn’t have practice, but it’s not the same._

_You’re missing._

Chan looks up from the paper, breathing shakily. 

The last entry tells him to write back soon. He stuffs the envelope and letter underneath his pillow, for safekeeping.

—

Changbin’s letter is the one that makes him cry.

_I see you everywhere. In the rain. In the pool. In lecture, when my professor tells a stupid joke, the same kind you would tell me. Tell us._

_Jisung doesn’t talk about it much, but we’re both busy with classes. We always reserve a day of the week for meeting up. Lately, it’s been Sundays. We picked an ice cream shop. It’s really pretty. I think you would like it._

_I miss summer, Chan. Each day that passes is a day closer to fall, but it’s also a day closer to seeing you again._

_Also, I’m just now realizing that this sounds suspiciously like a love letter. If you tease me about it, I won’t hesitate to kick your ass._

Chan laughs, and brushes a tear away.

—

They fall into a steady routine, exchanging letters as the weeks pass. It’s not perfect, because Changbin misses a week during midterms, and Chan is focusing on his training, and Jisung is so, _so_ , tired these days. 

It never gets easier, but they learn to manage.

—

It’s Jisung’s idea.

They’re on a crowded subway at 6 am, and Changbin can’t stop thinking about Chan.

“Do you think he’ll be happy?” Changbin asks, and he looks at Jisung nervously. Changbin’s hand squeezes the metal pole impossibly tighter. “Of course he will be. No one wants to spend Christmas alone,” Jisung murmurs, and his fingertips trace Changbin’s cheek. The people on the train pay them no attention.

“I’m so nervous,” Changbin admits, over the sound of the train hissing to a stop. The doors open, and people flood out. They have one more stop before they can get off.

Jisung pulls him into an empty seat.

“It’s Chan. You don’t have to be,” Jisung reassures.

“I miss him,” Changbin says instead, and Jisung’s shoulders slump at the confession. 

“I know. Me too,” Jisung whispers, barely audible over businessmen chattering on phones and the humming of the train. They fall silent afterwards.

When they get off of their train, it’s started snowing. 

—

Chan wakes up alone on Christmas.

It never feels like Christmas anymore. Camp Half-Blood’s weather patterns never change, even in the winter, and Greek mythology doesn’t exactly tie into the whole concept.

He gets ready, slowly, and debates on what he should do today as he walks to eat breakfast. 

It’s a strange sight, to see snow all around the camp, but to still feel the sun shining on his face. Chan doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to it.

When he gets to his table, he freezes.

There’s two people sitting in his usual spot, backs facing him. Chan’s first instinct is to pinch himself, just to make sure he isn’t dreaming. His next instinct is to barrel towards the table, muttering, “No fucking way,” as they laugh, wrapping their arms around him.

“Is this real? Is this happening?” Chan asks, pulling back to stare at the both of them. He runs a hand through Jisung’s hair, smiling, and looks over at Changbin. “This can’t be real,” Chan says, wedging himself between the two of them. 

“We decided to come down and surprise you. It was Jisung’s idea, actually,” Changbin explains, and Chan laughs again, unexplainably happy. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” He protests, nudging Jisung’s shoulder gently.

“Then it wouldn’t be a surprise!” Jisung exclaims, laughing. They’re all impossibly happy.

“Well? Tell me everything,” Chan insists, picking up a fork and knife. He’s always loved pancakes. Jisung’s hand rests on his knee as he recounts his first day of lecture all over again, and Chan feels right at home.

—

They always return back to the lake.

Changbin’s the first one there tonight. He’s holding a palm-sized box in his hands, waiting for Jisung and Chan to show up. He turns it over in his hand, staring.

He wishes he’d had the time to wrap it, but Jisung had proposed the idea last minute.

“What’s that?” Chan asks, appearing from behind him. Changbin is startled, and the box slips out of his hands when he jumps. “Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck_ ,” Changbin panics, glancing desperately into the water.

“Fuck,” He repeats, and he doesn’t say anything before he jumps in, water engulfing him. He thrashes around, trying not to panic as each twist and turn reveals darkness, and no box.

Something tugs in his gut, the same feeling he gets whenever he uses his abilities, and he watches as an object flies towards him.

The box.

He almost sobs from relief, pulling it to his chest. He kicks his legs upwards, breaking the surface.

“Got it,” He grins, but falters when he notices the look on Chan’s face.

“You _scared_ me,” Chan breathes, and Changbin swims back over, trembling from the cold.

“Oh. I’m really sorry,” Changbin apologizes, hoisting himself back up onto the wooden pathway.

He presses a finger to the box, and watches the water disappear from it.

“New trick?” Chan asks, and Changbin nods. “I just hope it didn’t get damaged,” He murmurs, and twists to see if Jisung’s on his way. He can make out a figure in the distance. 

“Jisung is gonna kill me,” He laughs. Chan cups his hands around his mouth, yelling at Jisung to hurry. Distantly, they can hear him yelling back, and it isn’t long before he’s by their sides again, two similarly shaped boxes in his hands.

“Dude. Don’t say it. _Please_ don’t say it,” Jisung pleads, staring at Changbin’s water-soaked clothes and the box. Changbin grimaces, and offers him his signature _I can’t do anything about it now_ look.

“You had one job!” Jisung groans, but there’s a small laugh bubbling up out of him. Changbin relaxes. Jisung would never actually get mad at him. He knows that.

Changbin shrugs a little, and carefully opens the box. He lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Jisung shifts, glancing over his shoulder. 

“You are _so_ lucky it’s not damaged. Tyche must love you,” Jisung tells him, and Changbin happily holds out the ring, smiling. 

“Chan, it’s for you,” He admits, suddenly feeling shy. There’s a star studded across the band.

“We tried looking for constellations, but I guess those aren’t in demand for rings,” Changbin explains, holding it out to Chan, who accepts it. “Also, we realized we never asked you what your favorite one was,” Jisung adds, a slight pout on his lips.

“For me? Really?” Chan asks, twisting it around. 

“Yes! Now put it on,” Jisung urges, and he turns to give Changbin his box. Chan slips it onto his finger, glancing at them. “Did you guys get them too? We have matching rings?” He looks excited now, smiling widely at the two of them.

Changbin nods, putting on his own ring, and Jisung does the same, holding his hand out for the both of them to see. 

“We’re matching,” Chan sighs, still smiling at them. Changbin’s heart skips a beat, and he thinks of all the times he’s skipped rocks across the lake with the two of them. Neither of them ever understood how he was so good at it.

Jisung holds his hands out. One for Changbin. One for Chan.

Changbin leans his head onto Jisung’s shoulder, and Chan does the same.

It’s just them tonight.

—

It feels like summer again, especially as Jisung walks back to his cabin. The air’s got that sticky feel to it, and he can’t tell if he’s just imagining it.

He’d said goodnight to Chan and Changbin earlier, but he’s wide awake as he slides into his bunk bed, staring up at the ceiling. 

It’s not that he can’t sleep. He’s gotten better at that ever since he got closure. He still has his bad days, but today isn’t one of them. No, tonight he wants to be with Chan. With Changbin.

It’s not long before he’s slipping into the shadows, reappearing inside of Changbin’s cabin. 

Changbin stirs from his bed, opening one eye.

“Did I wake you?” Jisung whispers, stepping out of the shadows. Changbin shakes his head, but he’s rubbing at his eyes sleepily. Jisung really shouldn’t have woken him. “Is something up?” Changbin asks through a yawn, and he pushes back his covers, feet dangling above the ground.

“I, uh, was gonna go to Chan’s. Stargaze on the roof. The usual sappy couple stuff,” Jisung explains. He can’t remember the last time he was so nervous. His first day of classes, maybe. He’s pulled out of his thoughts when Changbin moves, feet padding across the cabin towards him.

“Well? You came to take me too, right?” He asks, and Jisung meets Changbin’s eyes. Changbin holds out his hand, and Jisung accepts, squeezing gently as they melt away.

Jisung’s gotten better at controlling his shadow traveling. 

(No one on his dorm floor, however, can figure out how he’s so good at sneaking out without getting caught).

—

Chan wakes up to the sound of quiet laughter and someone shaking his shoulder obnoxiously. Disoriented and slightly dazed from sleep, he turns to find the source of the sound.

“Earth to Chan?” Someone snickers within the darkness, and Chan recognizes it as Jisung.

“This better be good,” Chan groans, lifting his face from his pillow to meet their eyes. Changbin shrugs, pointing a finger at Jisung. _His idea_ , he mouths. _Not mine_. 

“What have you been up to all these months? I could’ve easily taken you out if I wanted to,” Jisung says. Chan can _hear_ the smugness in his voice.

He moves his arms from the blanket he had (embarrassingly) been hugging, and pushes himself up from the mattress so he’s standing. A flick of his wrist and he’s got Jisung stuck against the wall, a gust of wind pushing against his body. Thunder crackles from above them, and Jisung grins.

“Alright, alright. You win. I concede,” Jisung caves.

Chan lets him go—gently, of course. 

“We were wondering if you wanted to stargaze. Rumor has it that the Zeus cabin has a pretty neat roof,” Jisung offers. Chan doesn’t even have to think about it, motioning for them to follow him.

“You didn’t happen to bring blankets? Or, I don’t know, drinks? Snacks? Anything?” Each shake of a head from Jisung is punctuated with a laugh from Chan. Changbin looks back and forth between the two of them, smiling. Chan ruffles Jisung’s hair teasingly, and turns back to show them the way to the roof.

“Oh. Wow,” Changbin says, quietly, when they’re all standing on the roof together. Chan used to go up here a lot, back when the loneliness was unbearable. He’d stopped going as often when Changbin and Jisung showed up.

“Nice, isn’t it?” Chan agrees, and he walks over to the edge, leaning against the wall as he sits. Jisung and Changbin sit down, pressing against him. It’s cool outside now that the sun’s gone, but he still feels warm with them by his side.

“I used to go up here a lot,” Chan admits, and he’s slowly baring his heart to them for the first time. Neither of the two respond, so he takes it as his cue to continue. 

“I was really young when I first came to camp. I started coming up here once I discovered there was a roof,” Chan starts, and he pauses to take a breath.

“I felt really lonely a lot of the time, you know? So I’d come up here. Look at the stars. Past me thought that the stars must be lonely too, despite having all of those other stars around them. I understood that.”

“It was reassuring, in a way. To know that we can experience loneliness, but are not actually _alone_. Not as alone as we think, anyways. It just takes some time for the right people to reach us. The universe is a big place,” Chan continues. He’s rambling.

“You guys made the wait worth it,” Chan admits with an exhale. He closes his eyes shut, waiting for either of them to respond. “You were never really alone. We just took our sweet time getting to you,” Jisung teases. His voice is light— _so_ light—floating up and around the three of them.

“Hurry up next time. I’m sick of waiting,” Chan teases right back, turning to look at him. Jisung smiles, moving closer.

“Would a kiss make up for it?” and Changbin snorts, muttering, “You are _so_ terrible,” under his breath, but Chan’s smiling. 

“Yeah. I think it would,” Chan says, and lets Jisung press their lips together.

Next to him, Changbin says something about wanting a kiss too.

Chan’s smiling against Jisung’s lips.

—

Saying goodbye a second time is somehow worse.

Changbin and Jisung linger for as long as possible, the three of them standing on the hill together.

“You don’t have to keep writing. I know you both have a lot of studying to do, so promise me that you’ll put school first,” Chan tells them, quietly. 

“Okay,” Changbin agrees, before Jisung can protest.

“We’ll be back. Summer isn’t that far away now,” Changbin promises. It’s January, which means that there’s still five months left. Chan has the date marked on his calendar. He circled it ages ago, back when Changbin told them he was leaving early. It felt so far away then. 

“I’ll be here, waiting,” Chan responds, trying to smile. He said he wouldn’t cry this time, but it’s hard not to, what with the way they’re both looking at him. “You said you wouldn’t cry!” Jisung blurts out, almost as if he can read his mind, and Chan watches him turn away, bottom lip trembling. Changbin laughs hoarsely, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“You’re crying too, Sung,” He points out, and he’s met with a barely audible sniffle. Chan moves so he’s hugging Jisung from behind, chin resting on his shoulder. He can feel Jisung shaking, so he rubs his arm, trying to get him to calm down.

“Just come with us. I’ll hide you in my bag,” Jisung mutters, and Chan can hear the unmistakable way his voice cracks. Changbin’s hand reaches out to smooth Jisung’s hair, smiling. “He’s pretty good, actually. Got the whole dorm floor wondering how he sneaks me in and out without getting caught,” Changbin murmurs, and Chan raises an eyebrow at the remark.

“So you’re troublemakers,” Chan quips, and Jisung laughs through his tears. Chan can sense his shoulders shaking from it.

“Troublemakers with the ability to shadow travel,” He corrects, raising his hands up to brush away any remaining tears. Chan knows he has to let go, that they can’t stay like this forever.

When he does let go, Changbin moves, tugging on his sleeve. His face is pinched with an emotion Chan cannot identify.

“I have a swim meet next weekend, if you wanna try to come. You know where our school is, right?” Changbin asks him, eyes wide with anticipation. “I’d like it if you came.” He looks pretty, and the sight is distracting.

“Yeah. I know. I’ll be there,” Chan promises, and Changbin jumps a little, obviously excited at the thought of him coming. Jisung smiles from off to the side.

Changbin hugs him then, arms resting comfortably around his neck. Chan’s own hands settle at the younger boy’s waist, and Changbin leans in to kiss him. He smells like the ocean. He always does. 

When Chan pulls away, Changbin’s embarrassed, but there’s a hint of a smile on his face.

“You guys are gonna miss your train,” Chan says, stupidly, because he doesn’t know what else to say. He never does. 

“We’ll come back to you,” Changbin promises, and Chan watches them go.

—

Chan doesn’t tell anyone he’s going to Changbin’s swim meet.

To say that Changbin’s happy is an understatement. 

His eyes light up the second he spots Chan in the crowd, and he waves shyly, blushing when one of his teammates says something. Chan waves back much more enthusiastically, and turns towards the bleachers, searching for Jisung. 

It doesn’t take long to find him, and the look on his face makes Chan’s heart swell.

“What are you doing here? How are you here? Did you tell Chiron?” Jisung rambles, scooting over so Chan can sit.

“Supporting my boyfriends. Subway. And, no,” Chan answers, threading their fingers together. Jisung’s eyes widen. “Chiron doesn’t know?” He whispers, and Chan grins at him.

“You’re not the only troublemaker out there,” Chan reminds Jisung, laughing a little. Changbin can’t stop staring at them. He’s got this ridiculously happy look on his face whenever Chan makes eye contact with him.

Chan quit swimming a long time ago, but it’s still very familiar to him. Chlorine has a distinct smell, and the sound of whistles blowing can’t be erased from his memory, not even by time.

“This is where Changbin was attacked by the Skolopendra,” Jisung tells him. Chan recalls the story with a shudder, thinking about how scary it must’ve been for him. “He couldn’t get into the pool after it all happened,” Jisung continues, his tone serious now.

“No one understood because they’re all mortal. Changbin hadn’t told anyone about what happened either,” Jisung says, voice low. “It took a while, but he got over it eventually. I’m really proud of him,” He admits, quite fondly. Chan smiles.

“And you? How have you been?” Chan asks. A swim meet isn’t the ideal place to talk about these kinds of problems. Sneaking out of camp to see his boyfriends isn’t ideal either, but it doesn’t matter. Life is weird. Complicated, even, and Chan’s learned to roll with the punches.

“Better. I have my days. Everyone does,” Jisung responds, and his voice is genuine. Chan relaxes at his answer, smiling. “We all do,” He agrees, and Jisung leans into him, lips brushing his shoulder.

(They cheer obnoxiously when the announcer calls out Changbin’s name, and again when he’s the first to finish).

—

Chiron stares when Chan comes back, but he doesn’t say anything.

Dionysus mutters something about turning him into a hybrid dolphin, but Chiron places a hand on his chest, as if to stop him. When neither of them say anything further, Chan smiles sheepishly, and goes to get ready for dinner.

—

Jisung is thrilled by the time summer approaches. Not even exams can stress him out, not with the thought of seeing Chan right around the corner.

Changbin tells him he has to take a later train, since his classes run later than Jisung’s. 

Still, he waits for Changbin to take his last exam, and they end up on the subway together, swords strapped to their backpacks. None of the mortals even blink an eye at their appearance, a confirmation of the Mist doing its job to obscure their vision. Jisung briefly wonders what they see, but dismisses the thought.

When they get off of the train, Changbin nudges Jisung’s shoulder.

“To your right,” He murmurs, and Jisung waits a few seconds before letting his eyes flit to the side, noticing someone staring. “What do you think?” Jisung asks, looking back at Changbin.

“I _really_ didn’t plan on fighting any monsters today,” Changbin responds, but he’s reaching back for his sword regardless. Jisung does the same.

The figure launches themselves towards Jisung and Changbin, snarling. Something flashes, and Jisung swears he sees bronze glinting on the person’s leg. The people around them have scattered already, screaming.

“Empousa,” He hisses. She grins at them, baring fangs, and Jisung notices the fur on her other leg. “Yeah. Definitely an Empousa,” He repeats.

Changbin looks over at him, smiling.

“Would you like to do the honors?” He asks, and Jisung grins, raising his arms. The ground erupts, and the world of the dead surrounds them.

“I’ll go left. You go right,” Changbin says, and the pipes above them rumble. Jisung looks up, and a thrill runs through him.

They’re two parts of a machine, missing Chan, but they make it work.

They always do.

—

They show up in front of his cabin with tattered clothes and exhausted smiles. Changbin’s shoe is steaming from Gods knows what, and Jisung’s missing the bottom half of his pant leg.

“Rough trip?” Chan asks, a barely there smile on his face.

“Yeah. Something like that.” Jisung’s smiling too, through the dried ichor and dust on his face.

“We came back to you. Just like we said we would,” and Chan’s heart breaks for them, for the people he loves dearly.

“You came back to me,” He repeats, crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok yes part two took way too long to update but im also really really really happy with how it turned out!!!!!! i love writing 3racha n their dynamics n i love pjo too so this entire fic was so much fun to write :( its gonna be weird to not have anything to write for it anymore :( but i have some woobin n hyunsung wips just. Waiting to be finished so those are next on my schedule ~~~~~ 
> 
> also comments n kudos are always always always appreciated they are my life force n motivation to write 
> 
> [twitter](https://Twitter.com/woobinsungs) !!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> the ending is purposefully ~vague~ btw!!! i might consider doing a part two of them figuring out their relationship but the main purpose of this was to write 3racha finding each other n all that sappy stuff so it didnt feel right to add it...just in case anyone was wondering!!!


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